Blood of a Phantom
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: AU. In order to finish off the last of the human rebels, King Plasmius starts to work on a secret weapon. But when the rebels take the weapon for themselves, they find out that it's not quite what they think. HIATUS
1. The Calm Before the Storm

AN: Yes, yes, I know, I know, I shouldn't have started another fanfiction. But once I got this idea, I couldn't stop myself. I have to say, I'm really, really into this story! Man, but guess I can't work on the next chapter of Three Years like I was planning to tonight. Meh, I tried to update that story, anyways! I tired! Hehehe, I got to use some big words in this one though. Makes me happy. Oh, and keep in mind while reading this that there IS a war going on, and people WILL die. Heck, several people are dead already, and it's only the first chapter! And yeah, this'll be Danny x Sam.

Oh, and heads up, my loyal readers of other fics. I'm going to be gone Friday through late Sunday. Going to Latin Camp in Rock Eagle. Should be fun! Oh, and I have pictures for this story! Yeah, I know, already? I TOLD you guys I'm obsessed with this idea, didn't I? Remember, take out the spaces in order to view the links!

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 32350328/

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 32350356/

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 32350263/

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but this AU world, as well as this fanfiction do. Take it, and I will eat your spleen. And that's not an empty threat.

Blood of a Phantom

Chapter One: The Calm Before the Storm

The year is 2011, three years after the Great Ghost Invasion, an event that shook the world to its very foundation. Under the pressure of a supernatural attack that most weren't ready for, Earth's countries, both big and small, developed and un-developed, had crumpled into oblivion. It's people fell into subjugation, finding themselves falling under the iron hand of the ghosts. Skeptic and believer alike found themselves all bowing down now to the same king, a man they all had once known as Vlad Masters.

Now they only knew him as Vlad Plasmius, or rather, Lord Plasmius, the Ruler of the ghosts and King of the humans. Vlad was half-ghost, a result from a lab accident back in his college days, caused by exposure to ectoplasmic energy from his former friend, Jack Fenton's ghost portal.

Now, approximately twenty years into the future, the two were the most dire of enemies. But it had not started because Vlad had abused his powers, unleashing an army of ghosts onto the people of Earth, and not because Jack was one of the two leaders of the rebels who stood against Vlad and his malevolent spirits.

No, the origin of their feud lay in the co-commander of the rebels, a woman known as Maddie Fenton. Ever since middle school, the two had loved her. The lab accident in college had cost Vlad his chance at her, or at least, that's what he blamed it on. The truth was that Maddie simply never held any interest in him, not in that matter.

And so Vlad had grown bitter, even more so after Jack and Maddie had a child, a daughter that they named Jasmine Fenton. Vlad decided then to use his ghost powers to gain money and power. Surely those things would impress Maddie so much that she would dump her idiotic husband, and come live with him. But Maddie had no interest in money, or power. She was happy as she was, studying and researching ghosts, baking cookies, and spending time with her beloved husband and daughter.

Despite their past falling out, Jack and Maddie were still stunned and hurt to learn that the one who had unleashed the ghost army onto the human world was none other than their old college friend. Neither of them could understand what that much stored-up bitterness could leave too, combined with the temptation of having ghost powers.

Now Jack and Maddie Fenton lead the last of the resistance movement against Vlad, their base located in Amity Park. Using their research on ghosts, as well as the anti-ghost weaponry they had developed over the years, they were able to hold Vlad's ghosts back, locking them both into a stalemate.

It was a stalemate that frustrated both sides of the war. Vlad's ghosts could not get through the ghost shield in Amity Park, and for the humans living there, leaving it was an invitation for death, no matter what numbers they swarmed out in. So the two sides stayed where they were, each waiting for a break to the stalemate, hopefully from their own side.

* * *

Forty-year old Maddie Fenton frowned, sitting at her desk, taping her pencil against the desk, in thought. She let out a long sigh, and leaned back in her chair, stretching, her shoulders popping to release stored tension. Sitting in front of her were aerial photos of an average looking road, taken by a probe. She had been pouring over them for the last few hours, as well as stat sheets of Vlad's ghost army, and its most prominent members.

Two weeks ago, Maddie and her husband Jack had gotten word from an undercover agent that Vlad was in the process of developing a weapon that he felt could break the stalemate that the two sides had been locked into for over a year. This news disturbed Maddie to no end, especially since she knew that it was definitely no false report. Her agent had died shortly after delivering the message, from internal wounds. It was a wonder he had made it into the safety of the ghost shield at all.

Since then, she and her top commanders had been trying to get their hands on whatever information they could, but doing it as discreetly as possible. The fact that Vlad now knew that they knew that he was almost finished with a powerful weapon was enough. She didn't want him to change his plans, leading her soldiers into a trap. It had happened once before at a place appropriately named Fell Creek, and Maddie intended to never let it happen again.

"Mrs. Fenton?"

Maddie looked up, her eyes meeting the worried ones of nineteen-year old Samantha Manson. She wore a black Hazmat, a pair of black goggles with violet-tinted shades pulled up on her forehead. In addition to those, she also wore a pair of black combat boots, and two black stud bracelets on each wrists. In her ears, she wore a pair of crystal drop earring, which had been her mothers.

Sam, as most people called her, was an orphan. Her parents had been among those at the slaughter at Fell Creek. Sam herself, sixteen at the time, was among the soldiers. Normally Maddie wouldn't have allowed her, but the girl had begged relentlessly to be let to come along. Maddie had caved in.

And Sam had to witness both of her parents being torn limb from limb. Maddie, who had lead the charge, had barley made it out of there alive, rounding up as many as she could into the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle. She had grabbed Sam as the girl desperately yanked off the first thing she could get of her mother-the earrings. Or rather, they fell into her hands, along with both of her ears. Maddie had managed to convince her not to keep the ears, and Sam had been thinking about it.

Her husband likewise rounded up those he could into the Specter Speeder, following after his wife.

After the Fell Creek Massacre, Sam had developed an intense hatred for ghosts. And while such a hate was present in all of those who lived in Amity Park, as well as most people world-wide, Sam's hate almost reached unnatural levels. But beyond that, she saw no signs of major mental trauma. Her daughter, Jazz, had checked.

Maddie smiled at her. "Yes, Sam? What is it?"

"It's time for dinner. We've been trying to contact you over the intercom for the past seven minutes." Sam said, smiling slightly at the older woman. "And then I called you for about three minutes before you heard me."

Maddie flushed. "Oh! My apologies, Sam. I was so engrossed, I didn't even hear you." Maddie put down her pencil and got up from her chair.

"That's allright, Mrs. Fenton." Sam cast a look back at the papers. "Are you having any luck?"

Maddie sighed. "Not really. We may have narrowed down the road and the approximate time the transport will cross it, but not much else. I haven't even been able to determine if it will have a human or a ghost escort, or even both."

"I talked to Tucker about it. He said that the most likely escort would be a combination of human and ghost, so they could get strengths from both." Sam said.

Tucker Foley was another war orphan. In fact, more than half of the children of Amity were orphans. Their parents had either died, or had a difference of opinion with the rebels. And there were humans who supported Vlad's regime, as foolish as that seemed.

Tucker's parents had died during the Battle for Amity Park. Originally over-run by ghosts, the rebels had taken it back, and established it as their base. It had been one of their greatest victories, but it too, like all battles, was not without it's cost in human lives.

Tucker was a technological wizard. His knowledge of computers had been of great help to the rebellion. It was, in fact, one of Tucker's programs that had managed to take down one of Vlad's top military officials, Technus. Technus had tried to overtake the rebels from the inside, managing to slip into an electric device in order to get past the Ghost Shield. His mission was to shut down the Ghost Shield from the inside, a mission which failed. Tucker had figured out that while he was in a computer, Technus assumed the form of a computer code, and so the African-American teenager had set out to create an anti-virus, of sorts, to get rid of him. And he had succeeded, another one of the rebellion's greatest victories.

"Did he?" Maddie said. "Well, if he says so, then I suppose I should prep the raiding party for an assault on a combined escort." Maddie mused. "Did he remember to come down for dinner?" There were times, of course, when Tucker was so locked in his work, that he forgot to eat.

Sam nodded. "He came down."

The two arrived at the dining hall. The noisy hall went silent as the two entered, and Maddie took her place at the head of the table, right next to her husband. People exchanged looks, then looked back at Maddie.

Maddie started back at them, realizing that they were expecting her to say something. She cleared her throat and stood up, and in her best speaking voice, she addressed those assembled. "You may have all heard that I am organizing a raiding party to halt the transport of Plasmius' secret weapon. This is true. I have intelligence as to the route that the vehicle will take." Maddie turned then, looking at Tucker.

"Tucker has informed me that the transport will most likely be guarded by a combination of ghosts and humans. If any of you have qualms about killing your fellow man, then you may be exempt from this mission."

A hand shot up in the middle of the table. Maddie looked at the person it was attached too. Valerie Gray. Her father was the one who had brought the message of Vlad's weapon into Amity Park. Maddie knew that the girl would stop at nothing to be brought along on the mission.

Valerie's hatred of ghosts ran even deeper than Sam's. She was the kind of person who, when she got a grudge, she kept it. For days, weeks, years, centuries, even, if she could live that long. Next to Maddie, Jack, and Sam, Valerie was one of the most prominent ghost-hunters among the rebels.

Vlad had ghost-hunters as well, for not all ghosts went along with Vlad's rule. And in truth, the Battle of Amity Park could not have been won without the help of one Dora Mattingly, a ghostly princess whose amulet allowed her to change into a ghost dragon. She had fallen, her spiritual essence fading away into nothingness. Her amulet was displayed with honor in a memorial marking her, one of the first Maddie had ordered made. It was important for people to remember those who stood up against wrong-doing, regardless of race.

There were other ghosts on the rebels side, although Dora was the most powerful. The Box Ghost, though not the brightest, kept close watch on all of the boxes entering Amity, making sure nothing got through when it wasn't supposed too. Johnny 13 and his girlfriend Kitty, though they were both a bit of delinquents, were also with the rebels. They just weren't into the whole domination thing. Johnny's bad luck shadow had been of great help to the rebels. Other ghost allies included The Lunch Lady and her daughter, Box Lunch, Wulf, and Kujo.

"Yes, Valerie?" Maddie asked, looking at the girl.

"Can you please review with us again the exact details of the weapon and this shipment?" She asked. Maddie heard some groans among those gathered. Valerie asked that every time they came together for a meal. She wanted everything to be perfectly clear in her head. There was no room for even the slightest error.

"Certainly, Valerie." Maddie obliged. There was nothing more troublesome than an annoyed Valerie. She could have a bit of a temper at times. Maddie cleared her throat once more. "We have gotten intelligence that Vlad's weapon is being shipped to him by land from the laboratory working on it somewhere in Nevada."

"There is an interstate about a hundred miles from here that the transport will travel along. Our plan is to strike there, and try to take and, or, eradicate the weapon before Vlad can get to it. I have had our mechanical department equip extra boosters to both the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle, and the three Specter Speeders that we will be using. Each solider will be equipped with two pistols, one for ghosts, and one for humans, as well as a Fenton Thermos. Those who have had the proper training may request to use the Jack-O-Ninetails, or the ecto-sabres."

Valerie raised her hand again, but Maddie predicted the question. "Yes, Valerie, you may use your jet sled." Valerie's jet sled, as well as her battlesuit, were pieces of equipment that they had stolen from Vlad. Valerie had insisted that she be trained to use them, and in all honesty, she really did have the most ability to use them. The nineteen-year old was a ninth-degree black belt, and could adapt to new weaponry very quickly.

"Any other questions?" Maddie asked, looking around. No other hands raised. Maddie smiled, sitting back down. "Then let's eat!"

* * *

"We good to go?"

"Good to go, boss!" Nineteen-year old Dash Baxter saluted to his boss. The teenager had been a former resident of Amity Park, however, he had sided with the ghosts, mainly due to his lack of will to resist the dominant power. Right now, he was working as a strong man in a research and development facility in Nevada.

Dash frowned, looking at the life pod that he and the other strongmen had loaded into the armored truck. Floating inside of it was his king's secret weapon. The blonde teenager's frown deepened. It didn't honestly look like much, but apparently it was almost as powerful as the king, and well it should be, because half of it's DNA came from him.

The other half came from Maddie Fenton. The fact puzzled those who did not known their background. It hurt Dash's head, thinking about it, so he tended not to.

Phantom. That was the name of the project. In the official records, it was actually marked down as '944/70/', which was essentially, just Phantom, in L33T-speak.

He was also like the king in the fact that he was only half-ghost. Vlad had made him that way so that he could penetrate the Ghost Shield and pass through ghost-detection equipment un-noticed. Phantom was designed to have the appearance of a nineteen-year old. He actually held two bodies, one human and one ghost.

As a human, Phantom appeared just like any other teenager. He had shaggy black hair that dropped over his left eye, and pale blue eyes. The only thing that set him apart was the large barcode burned into his back, his serial number tattooed underneath it.

As a ghost, he had likewise shaggy hair, except it was snow white. His eyes were a glowing green, and his skin was white as new-fallen snow. His ears were pointed in an elven fashion, and he had several black markings on his body-around his right eye, wrists, ankles, and belly button.

The weapon was currently floating the life pod, it's now light blue eyes shut. He was naked, except for a pair of white pants, black strips of bondage hooked onto them here and there.

Today was the day that they were shipping him out. Dash himself would get to go protect it from any pathetic rebel attacks, though Vlad doubted there would be any. After all, they didn't know the route he was taking to deliver the package.

* * *

But Vlad Masters was wrong.

He wasn't aware that Tucker Foley had managed to once again get past his new computer defense system, didn't know that he had managed to get a print-out of the route before he had to shut off, his timer warning him that discovery time was coming. He didn't know that the rebels had organized, and he didn't know that they had a plan.

But at the same time, the rebels didn't know what kind of weapon Vlad would have, only that it wasn't activated yet. They didn't know that it was part-human, and they certainly didn't know that it was made in part by using the DNA from Maddie Fenton, their beloved leader.

And so, neither side knowing important things about the other, the two clashed. It was a short, and easy victory for the rebels. The escort simply didn't expect an organized resistance, not even this close to their base in Amity Park. The humans were killed and the ghosts sealed or destroyed. Valerie did the honors with Dash. She hated human traitors almost as much as she hated ghosts. Almost.

Valerie was the first to enter the armored vehicle, the first to see what was inside. She stopped, staring at it. She wasn't sure what kind of weapon she was expecting, but certainly not one that looked like a human teenager.

"Mrs. Fenton..." She said slowly. "I think you need to see this..."

"What?" Maddie asked, sucking the last of the ghosts into her Fenton Thermos. She turned around and stepped into the truck, stopping as she laid her eyes open the black-haired boy floating admit the transparent ectoplasm in the life pod. She felt her mouth drop open slightly, working to form words.

"It's a..." She began.

Valerie finished for her. "...a person?"


	2. Strange Weapon

AN: Chapter Two! Danny makes his first dialogue appearance. Not much in the way of action in this chapter, just kind of expository, or something like that. It seems my way with words does not expand into the Author's Notes, huh? By the way, question for you all. I like to listen to music while I write, so do any of you know any really good songs? I can pretty much get into everything except country, rap, and hip-hop. So gimme some good song and band names, if ya have 'em.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, however, this fanfic does. Steal it, and the mooing mule will stuff you into a room. A room... with a moose.

Blood of a Phantom

Chapter Two: Strange Weapon

"Well, Jack, what do you make of him?"

Maddie Fenton turned around, looking at her husband. After they had discovered what exactly it was that the armored transport contained, the rebels had decided to take a chance and bring the life pod back with them. They now had it sitting in the middle of Jack and Maddie's planning room, still un-opened as of yet.

"Well, Maddie, it looks just like a kid!" Jack said, staring at the pod in confusion. He had expected something less... human in appearance from Vlad, especially when he thought back to some of his first creations-horrible ghost animal chimeras.

Maddie frowned, turning back to the life pod, once again staring at the boy floating inside of it. Strangely enough, she felt almost a strong maternal pull towards him, similar to the one she felt around her daughter, Jazz. Perhaps, though, it was nothing more than pity, and the maternal pull was all in her imagination.

"He can't be a ghost, since we were able to get him through the Ghost Shield without any problem." Maddie crossed her arms in front of her, closing her eyes in thought. "And it can't possibly be a human, either. No human could exist within an ectoplasmic containment chamber. And a human weapon wouldn't do that much good to Vlad, either."

"Maybe it's a robot!" Jack suggested.

"Jack, dear, robots aren't that advanced yet." Maddie said, smiling slightly at her husband.

"...So should we let him out?" Jack asked.

Maddie sighed and frowned once more, turning back to the pod. "Perhaps... It could be a trap though... but..." Maddie let out another sigh. "But I suppose I feel somewhat... sorry for the boy." Maddie turned back around again. "Jack, fetch Tucker. If anyone can work the code lock on one of these things, it's him."

Her husband nodded and he left the room, heading to find the technological prodigy.

Maddie smiled, watching him go, satisfied that she made the right choice all those years ago. She then turned once more back to the pod, and strode over too it, placing a hand on the glass. She stared up at the raven-haired boy inside, a look of puzzlement coming over her face.

"Who are you? Where did you come from, and why does Vlad want you? What are you?" Maddie asked to the boy in the pod, though she expected no answers. Perhaps when they opened the pod, the strange boy would provide the answers. Provided, of course, that this wasn't a trap. But Maddie lacked the gut feeling that would indicate a possible trap, although she mused briefly on the fact that it might be bogged down because of her odd sense of maternal pity for the young boy.

Jack returned moments later with Tucker. The boy took one look at the pod, then strode over to it, a purposeful look in his eyes, having already been filled in by Jack. He adjusted his glasses slightly, and placed a black gloved hand on the code panel. He frowned, his eyes scanning over the numbers. Minutes later, he typed in a code, only to find, to his annoyance, that it was wrong. He did not give up, however, and kept on trying different combinations of code until he was able to get the right one, on his fifth try.

Jack, Maddie, and Tucker all took a step back then. There was a hissing, unclenching noise heard as the front panel of glass on the life pod detached from the top. It slowly went downwards, fading seamlessly into the bottom of the pod. For a brief second, Maddie regretted the fact that she and Jack were currently unarmed, the thought that it might be a trap still nagging at her in the back of her mind.

The ectoplasm seeped out, safely carrying the strange boy out with it. His still sleeping body settled gently onto the ground. Maddie and Jack exchanged a look with each other, before they turned and stared downwards at the boy lying in front of him. He looked so weak, so helpless, and for that second, their hearts just went out to him.

"Mmmm..."

The boy moaned, and started to move, pulling himself up from the floor. He held his hand over his face for a moment, as if he had a splitting headache. He let out another moan, and pulled the hand from his face. His light blue eyes flickered open, staring at the three assembled in front of him. His eyes narrowed in puzzlement, and his mouth began moving, as if he was trying to work out words.

"...Where...?" He asked slowly. He then blinked, staring downwards in the direction at his mouth, seemingly stunned that he had just spoken. He then looked back up towards Maddie, Jack, and Tucker, staring at them, his eyes uncertain... and almost frightened.

If Maddie thought she was feeling a strange sense of maternal responsibility while the boy was in the pod, it flared to life now. She kneeled down besides the boy. His eyes trailed down as she kneeled down, until he was eye level with her.

"This is Amity Park." Maddie said slowly. "Have you... ever heard of it before?" She asked, her voice soft and soothing. The boy shook his head. "Do you..." Maddie began again. "...know you're name?"

The boy frowned, his eyes narrowing in thought. "I..." He said slowly, once again seeming surprised by his words. "...don't know." He looked around the room, slowly taking in everything he could see. He then turned his head back, facing Maddie, who seemed distressed and concerned. "Who... are you?"

Maddie smiled softly, though it was a smile that was underlain by worry and concern. "My name is Maddie Fenton. This is my husband, Jack Fenton." She said, motioning to Jack, who beamed down at the boy. "And this is Tucker Foley. He's a friend of ours." She motioned to the African-American teen.

The boy's eyes narrowed deeper in thought then, his brow furrowing. Maddie Fenton. He wasn't entirely sure why, but the name sounded vaguely familiar to him. In truth, the boy had no real memories of anything. This was the first time he had been outside of the life pod, the first time he had ever been awake, at least for a long period of time. There were moments when, while in the life pod, his would briefly wake up. But those moments lasted no longer than a few seconds, as he always quickly fell back asleep.

"Do... you remember anything at all?" Maddie asked. The boy, once again, shook his head.

That's when an unexpected sound ran through the room. The sound of a grumbling stomach. At first, Maddie thought it belong to Tucker, but when she turned to scold him for forgetting to eat again, she found that the he was staring in surprise at the strange raven-haired teen.

"It was him." Tucker said, blinking slowly. Maddie turned back to the boy, who was staring at his stomach in utter bafflement.

"Are you... hungry?" Maddie asked, looking at him.

The boy looked up at her, not seeming to understand her. "Hungry?" He asked, sounding confused. "I'm... I do not know... What is hungry?"

"It means you have to eat..." Maddie said slowly, frowning. "How can you not know what that is? All humans need to eat... and you... you are human, correct?"

The boy cocked his head to the side. "What is... human?"

"You don't know?" Maddie asked, surprised. It was almost like the boy had been isolated his entire life. Maddie frowned then. Perhaps that was the case, in a manner of speaking. Perhaps he was not a naturally born human, but instead, a test tube human. It would explain a few things.

Maddie sighed and got up, offering a hand to the sitting teen. He started at it, confused. "Take it. I'll take you to get some food." The boy stared at her hand for awhile longer. "It's allright, I don't bite." He frowned then, and reached out with his hand, letting himself be pulled up by the older woman. She was a bit disturbed by how light he seemed.

"Can you walk?" She asked. She nodded to Jack and Tucker to start walking, to show what she meant. The boy stared at them, then slowly took a careful step forward, finding that, yes, he could indeed walk, though unsteadily. He took another step, and another, and Maddie smiled. It almost reminded her of Jazz's first steps.

"Follow me." She said, and the boy nodded, following behind her. As they went along, his walking seemed to quickly improve. By the time they had reached the dining hall, he needed almost no help at all. Maddie let go of his hand and turned around, thinking.

"We need something to call you." Maddie said, frowning, lost in thought, raking her brain for names. She took a look up at the blinking blue-eyed boy, then smiled. "Danny. How does that sound?"

"Danny..." The boy said slowly, considering it. A smile cracked on his face, although it seemed somewhat unsure, as he had never smiled before. His body simply seemed to know the movements, much like his brain seemed to simply know the words. "It's nice."

Maddie smiled at him, then lead him into the dining room. It was empty now, no one would be eating. Maddie lead the newly-named Danny to a chair, and instructed him to sit there while she grabbed him something to eat. She went into the kitchen, looking through the cabinets for something that would do.

* * *

Sam sighed irritably as she headed down the stairs from the floor her room was on, heading down towards the dining hall. She was annoyed that Mrs. Fenton hadn't let her go on the mission to fetch and destroy Plasmius' weapon, choosing Valerie to go instead. Sometimes, Sam thought, Mrs. Fenton seemed to baby her just a tad too much. She didn't like it at all.

She had, however, seen the supposed weapon as it entered Amity Park. She was surprised that they had decided to bring the thing back, she had thought they were merely going to destroy it. Sure, it might have looked like a human, but there was no possible way it could have been, not if it was of value to Plasmius.

Sam assumed that the only reason the Fentons had taken it was so that they could study it, and maybe learn a way to turn it against Plasmius. She smiled to herself, thinking about the surprise the king would feel to have his own weapon turned against him as she entered the dining hall.

And stopped dead in her tracks.

Sitting in one of the chairs at the table was none other than the strange boy-weapon that they raiding party had brought back. He was sitting at the table, seemingly oblivious to her presence, staring at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists several times, seemingly fascinated by it.

He blinked then, and turned, looking at her, his light blue eyes meeting with her violet eyes. Sam stared at him, puzzled. What was he doing here? Surely the Fentons hadn't been foolish enough to actually release him. _He might look human, but he's not. _She thought, looking at him.

And yet, he didn't seem like a monster, either.

"Hello." He said slowly, blinking at her. "I'm..." He paused for a moment, recalling the name that the jumpsuited woman, Maddie, had given him. "Danny." He finished, grinning proudly. That was his name. He liked having a name, as he had never had one before.

Sam's violet eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to say something. She was, however, cut off by the arrival of Maddie Fenton, carrying two plates with chicken sandwiches on them. She paused, blinking, looking at Sam.

"Oh, Sam! I didn't know you had come down here too." Maddie said, smiling. "I would have made something for you if I had known." She apologized, as she set down the plates on the table, placing one in front of Danny. She smiled down slightly at him. She then caught Sam glaring at the boy, and frowned again, looking back up.

"Sam? Is something wrong?" Maddie asked.

"Can we talk outside, Mrs. Fenton?" Sam asked, shooting an undisguised glare of suspicion at Danny.

Maddie let out a long sigh. She should have seen this coming. Far be it from Sam, or anyone here to easily except the strange boy into their fold. He was, after all, found in the clutches of Vlad, and in the truck that was supposed to contain his secret weapon, no less. And yet, though Maddie couldn't quite explain why, she felt no danger from this boy. "Allright, Sam." She said. "Danny, I'll be back in a few minutes, allright?"

Danny nodded at her and resumed the poking of the sandwich, as he had been before. Maddie smiled at him briefly, then turned, exiting the dining hall with Sam. She closed the door behind her, in order to make sure that Danny wouldn't have to hear any of the discussion. She then turned to Sam. "Now Sam, I know what you must be thinking, but..."

"But what? You released Vlad's weapon? And you're _feeding _it, too? Do you want us to be destroyed?" Sam shouted, angrily. "With all due respect, Mrs. Fenton, but even though that thing might look human, chances are that it's probably not."

"I know that, Sam." Maddie said calmly.

"Then why?" Sam asked, staring at her.

"Because he's not a weapon, either. Not truly. I get the feeling that Vlad may have made him for other purposes as well." Maddie said, looking back towards the door to the dining hall. "I'm still not entirely sure what he is, but to my best guess, he was most likely man-made, and I don't mean in the traditional way."

Maddie sighed. "Honestly, Sam, I feel sorry for him. He's skipped a lot of things that normal people would have been able to experience. He won't ever have a childhood, much less a family or a past history, or anything. The way he looks at me... I can't help it. So, yes, he might be Vlad's weapon, but he's still a person, as well."

"And you're willing to risk the success of the rebellion so far just for some weapon kid that you feel sorry for?" Sam asked, coldness in her voice.

Maddie stared at her, levelly. "Yes. I am."

Sam let out a long sigh. She knew better than to talk back to Maddie Fenton when she used that tone of voice. She gave in. She would allow the... whatever it was, to be around, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Do you even know what it is? Besides a test tube baby."

Maddie shook her head. "Tucker is probably already running some tests. We should know what he is by the end of the day, tomorrow morning at the latest."

The door to the dining hall cracked open then, and Danny stuck his head out, cocking it slightly. Maddie blinked and looked at him. Sam glared briefly, then turned away.

"Yes, Danny?" Maddie asked, looking at him.

"Ummm..." Danny said. He then started to blink rapidly. "Uh... uh... I forgot."

Maddie laughed then, a large smile on her face, confident beyond a shadow of doubt that she was making the right decision by taking the strange boy in.


	3. Results

AN: Yay, chapter three! (cheers) I'm on a roll lately! No, really, someone's strapped me to a roll! Will someone please help me get off?

Important news! I'm starting a contest! You can find the information about it here- bekuki. deviantart. com/ journal/ 8688934/ (Remember to take out the spaces!) Please let me know if you plan on entering! bows

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but this fanfic does. Take it, and I will eat your souls with hot sauce. Eee-yep.

Blood of a Phantom

Chapter Three: Results

After Maddie had fed Danny, she had managed to find a room for him in the main headquarters of the rebellion. There weren't many rooms left, but she had managed to find a small one close to her room. It hadn't been given away because of it's small size, as it really could only fit a small bed, a dresser, and one table. Danny, however, didn't seem to mind. It was a lot roomier than what he had spent most of his life up to this point in.

Danny was now lying on the bed, his pale blue eyes staring up at the ceiling. Maddie had apologized to him, saying that she had some important business to attend to. Danny got the feeling that it might be about him, especially since the rebel leader had taken a sample of his blood before she left. He absent-mindly rubbed where the needle had been entered into his skin.

Unbeknownst to Maddie and Sam, Danny had been listening in on their conversation the entire time. Is that what most people here thought of him as? A weapon in a human form? Did Maddie think that? He hoped that she didn't.

For reasons that he couldn't quite explain, Danny felt very tempted to call Maddie 'mother' or 'mom'. He didn't even really know what those two words meant, but he wanted to call her by them anyways. It just somehow felt right to him.

He sighed, turning and lying upside-down along the side of the bed. Of course, he knew what he was. It was engraved into his mind. Half-ghost. He knew he wasn't like other people. A part of his mind was angry that he was spending time around these people, these humans as Maddie had called them. He hadn't previously known the name before.

But another part of him found that he was puzzled by his other parts hatred. Besides the suspicion of Sam, he hadn't seen much reason to hate humans. How could all humans be bad, if Maddie was willing to take a huge risk on him? He didn't exactly understand about the war, but he had some vague knowledge of it. Vlad had made sure all the needed knowledge was implanted into the brain of his weapon-son to be.

The door creaked open then, and Danny, moving on pure instinct smacked his hands down on the floor below him, performing a handspring so he could face the person who had just entered the room face to face.

Standing in front of him, blinking her azure eyes in surprise, was a woman of about twenty-one. She had light orange hair worn down, an aqua headband slid back into it. She wore a smaller version of Maddie's aqua jumpsuit, though she lacked the hood and goggles that the older woman had. "Hello." She said, still sounding a bit surprised.

"Who are you?" Danny asked, moving out from his landing position, the tension in his body decreasing slightly. She didn't seem so bad, and he wasn't getting any dangerous or hateful vibes from her. This person reminded him of Maddie, but younger. It might have just been the jumpsuit.

The girl smiled then. "My name is Jasmine Fenton, but please, call me Jazz. I'm the daughter of Maddie Fenton, you met her earlier, right?"

Danny nodded. "I met her... but... what's a..." He frowned, puzzling out the unfamiliar word on his tongue. He hadn't heard it before. "...a daughter?" He finished.

Jazz blinked. "It means that I'm her child. The children of people are called daughters or sons. Daughter for girl, and son for boy." She explained. "You don't know that?" She asked, looking at him. Danny shook his head. "Do you know what a family is at all?"

Danny shook his head. "I don't know."

"Oh..." Jazz said, frowning sympathetically. "I'm so sorry."

Danny blinked. "For what?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, wondering why she seemed so sad.

Jazz shook her head then. "Nothing. I just came in to talk to you. Danny, right?" She asked, a smile now on her face. Danny nodded. "Listen, I know that right now everything must seem very strange to you, but I can assure you that my mother is working hard on finding out exactly what you are, and what Vlad did with you." Jazz explained.

Danny blinked. "What was that word?"

Jazz frowned. "What word?"

"That word. Mother. What does it mean?" Danny asked.

Jazz frowned, trying to think of a proper explanation for the concept. "A mother is... well, she's the one that gives birth to you. And the man who helps make you is called the father." She said, scratching her head. That was honestly the best explanation that she could come up with.

"I see..." Danny mumbled, mostly to himself. His eyes narrowed slightly in thought, but because he did not truly understand the concept of 'family' or 'mother', his thoughts merely chased themselves into nowhere. He sighed, giving up after awhile. The only thing that he knew for sure was that he felt as if he was lacking something very important- and he thought it might be this family thing, whatever that was exactly.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" Danny asked, tilting his head slightly as he plopped down on the bed, staring up at Jazz.

"I just wanted to see if there was anything you wanted to talk about. Because I know the position that you're in now must be very confusing for you. I thought I'd try and help make your transition smoother. It's what I do, after all." Jazz served as one of Amity Park's main psychologists, a handy thing to have around when one was engaged in a war on the side that most considered to be the losing side.

After a long pause, Danny spoke. "Is it true what they're saying?"

"That depends on what they're saying." Jazz said, smiling slightly.

"That I'm some kind of weapon." Danny said.

Jazz shook her head. "We don't really know yet. You were found in an armored transport that was supposed to contain King Plasmius' weapon, but there's a chance that might not be the case, or that we somehow got the wrong transport, and Plasmius is playing us all for fools."

Danny frowned, leaning back on his bed, his light blue eyes staring up at the ceiling. "It might be true..." He mumbled, staring at one of his hands. "I know some things that I don't know how I know. I don't know who I am, or where I come from. I barley know anything at all in regards to my life..."

Jazz frowned and came over to sit on the bed next to him. Danny didn't tell her to move, because for some reason, it felt really comfortable. He somehow felt connected with this girl. It was the same as the connection that he felt with Maddie, but at the same time, completely different.

"It might be true, and I won't deny that possibility. But regardless of what you were meant to be, you've already proven to my mother that you're something more than that. And you've proven it to me, too." Jazz said, smiling down at the raven-haired boy.

"Thank you." Danny said. He wasn't sure why he was thanking her, or even what thinking really meant, but something told him is was the right thing for him to say.

* * *

Maddie and Jack Fenton sat patiently waiting in the research laboratory, waiting for Tucker and the other scientists to emerge with their analysis results. They had taken the life pod that Danny had been found in, as well as a strand of his hair, and a blood sample that Maddie had acquired from Danny.

The first thing that anyone would have noticed right off was the fact that Danny's blood appeared to be a combination of human blood and ectoplasm. There was definitely something ghostly about Danny, but Maddie couldn't tell exactly what. She hoped the analysis would give her all the information that she needed.

Maddie had plenty of time to discuss Danny with Jack. Her husband agreed with her, that even if he was Vlad's weapon, he was also somehow human too. Danny was not responsible for his own creation, and therefore, he should not have to suffer punishment because of it. If he did turn out to be the weapon, though, they would still have to keep a close eye on him, both for the rebellion's protection and his own. Word did tend to spread quickly among such a small populace, and she knew it that they would know the analysis results not soon after she did.

Maddie already knew that most people were certain that Danny was the weapon, and she found herself certain of the fact too. Why would Vlad waste valuable resources and time to make a decoy? It wasn't like him, and Maddie was also certain that the information that she had acquired was correct. Only furthering the belief was the barcode tattoo branded onto Danny's back.

Tucker emerged from the lab, reading over a clipboard, looking up at the married couple. He frowned, and looked down, re-reading the paper, seemingly both surprised and slightly disturbed at the results he had gotten at the same time.

"Well?" Maddie asked. "What did you find out?" She got the feeling from Tucker's expression that whatever he found, it was most definitely quite interesting.

"He's Plasmius' weapon, allright. He's both a ghost and a human, and he's also definitely man-made. We found no evidence that would suggest he was ever naturally born." Tucker explained.

"So he's just like Vlad?" Jack asked, exchanging a look with his wife. They should have expected as much, considering that he could get past the ghost shield. The two had to modify the ghost shield so that it kept Vlad out, since, while he was human, he could simply walk right through it.

He had attempted too, once, which had resulted in the Second Battle of Amity Park, in which Maddie and Jack worked furiously to alter the shield while their forces did their best to hold them off. Once they had finished, they had given the orders for their army to retreat with all speed. It was quite amusing to watch Vlad realize that he couldn't get through the shield, but their amusement was short-lived. Many had been wounded, and many had been killed.

Among the wounded was Valerie Gray-it had been her first battle with the stolen equipment. There were times when Maddie thought that without the suit, Valerie would have died for sure. Valerie, however, took the whole ordeal and used it as a learning experience, becoming better and more proficient in battle. She wouldn't let herself get hurt so badly again.

Tucker nodded. "More like him than you'd think. He's partly made up of Vlad's DNA."

"He's a clone?" Maddie asked, stunned. She saw no trace of Vlad in Danny, anywhere.

"Yes, but he's not... not a full clone of Vlad." Tucker said, looking awkwardly at Maddie. "The other half of his DNA... is from... you."

"Me?" Maddie said, her violet eyes going wide in shock, her husband expressing an equally stunned expression. "What... what... Why me?" Maddie asked. If only the rest of the rebellion could see her now-acting more like a disgusted teenager than a mature, calm and calculating adult. "You mean... Vlad mixed his DNA with mine... ew!" Maddie shouted. The concept was just so disgusting to her, that she couldn't help but act this way. The feeling that she had was as if Vlad had gotten her pregnant, and that feeling was not very pleasant.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked Tucker, looking in between his shocked wife and the African American prodigy.

"I'm sure." Tucker said, nodding.

Maddie took awhile to calm down, taking a deep breath to cool her head. Getting disgusted and worked up wouldn't do any good to anyone. "So... Vlad used a... combination of our... DNA to create Danny?" She asked, and Tucker nodded. "And he's half-ghost, as well..." She turned to look at her husband. "What do you think, Jack?"

"I think that Vlad has some serious issues..." Jack muttered, looking pissed off that Vlad had somewhat violated his wife's personal boundaries. He wondered how he had gotten her hands on Maddie's DNA to begin with.

"Well yes, Jack, but I meant about Danny. What do you think about Danny?" She asked.

"Well, I haven't talked with him much yet, but he does seem like an allright boy to me, half-ghost or not." Jack said, nodding. "I say we let him stay here."

Maddie smiled. "Yes, we shall."

* * *

Within an hour of Maddie and Jack getting the lab results, the word had spread all over Amity Park. People dropped their conversations when they heard about it, turning to talk to the person next to them about this interesting development. The people of Amity Park, not knowing the name that Maddie had given him had took to calling him simply 'Phantom' or 'The Weapon'.

They had, of course, expected him to be the weapon, but they hadn't expected him to be a test tube baby made from the DNA of King Plasmius and Maddie Fenton. To the people who did not know the story behind Vlad and Maddie, they were utterly baffled at the fact that Vlad had done something as risky as using the DNA of his worst enemy in his ultimate weapon. For that reason, some people were easier to except the boy, because he was, after all, half-human, and half a rebel.

Others, however, didn't think so. They believed that his ghost half would over-power his human half, and that Maddie and Jack had doomed them all by not only releasing the boy, but allowing him to stay here as well. They were not reassured in the slightest by the fact that the boy would have a constant eye kept on him. On the extreme side were people who wanted the weapon destroyed, and on the more milder side, were people who simply wanted him to be sealed back into his life pod.

Sam Manson was one of the former. She hated ghosts with such a passion, that the fact that Danny had even just a little bit of humanity in him, didn't cool her hatred towards him, nor did the fact that Danny's humanity came from a woman she looked up too and respected.

She was sitting in the dining hall, munching angrily on a piece of lettuce. Valerie and Jazz were sitting next to her, Jazz having concluded her conversation with Danny awhile ago. Danny was not in the dining hall-he wasn't hungry, and besides that, he was sleeping. He had been sleeping when Jazz had left, and the older woman couldn't help but think that he was adorable in a sisterly manner.

So imagine her surprise when she learned that Danny was, in fact, her half-brother, through rather strange circumstances. She was almost happy, though creeped out by Vlad's actions, that things had worked out this way. She had felt so sorry for Danny, who lacked a family, but now that was no longer true. He had an older sister and a mother, and, because Jazz refused to acknowledge Vlad as his father, a stepfather.

"Sam, I'm telling you, Danny is not evil. He doesn't deserve to be killed for existing." Jazz said, looking at her old friend. There were times when Sam's hate disturbed her something terrible. Even Valerie had cooled down about Danny when she had learned that he was half-human.

"You mean destroyed, not killed. So what if he's got human in him? He's going to be just like Plasmius, more ghost than human. Why are you both so blind to that?" Sam said, glaring at them.

"Jazz is right, Sam." Valerie said. "From what both Jazz and Mrs. Fenton tell me, he's not that bad. He actually sounds kind of sweet, to me." Valerie smiled. "Besides, he has Mrs. Fenton's DNA in him. And we all know even on a DNA level, Mrs. Fenton can still wipe the floor with Plasmius."

"Pffft." Sam said, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe you two." She got up angrily, marching into the kitchen and stowing her salad bowl before leaving the dining room. Valerie and Jazz exchanged a look, and followed after her. Sam strode purposefully up to Danny's room, practically shoving the door open.

She stopped, however, dead in her tracks, when she saw that the weapon that she despised so much, was sleeping peacefully, curled up into a slight ball, not even awakened by the sound of the slamming door. She shook it off however, reminding herself that this was a ghost, not a human.

"Sam, no!" Jazz shouted, yanking the gothic girl back out of the room. "Attacking him isn't going to do any good for anybody!"

"What are you talking about? It'll save lives. This thing is a weapon, Jazz, not a person! You're just letting yourself get mixed up because you're half related to the little freak!" Sam shouted back at her, tugging at her to let go.

By now, Danny had woken up from the commotion, his light blue eyes blinking slowly open. "Mmm?" He pulled himself up from the bed, slightly annoyed. He had been really comfortable.

Valerie noticed that he was awake first, and smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry. My friends are just a bit... well, I think it's pretty apparent."

Danny pulled himself out of bed, walking over to the two fighting girls, blinking. He recognized them both-one was the nice girl Jazz, and one was that other girl he knew didn't like him. It wasn't hard for him to guess what the two were arguing about.

"Sorry about this, Danny." Jazz said, finally putting Sam into submission. "She's just... a little misguided." Sam glared at Jazz, and turned back, glaring at Danny.

"I know what you're trying to do. You and your freaky master, Plasmius." Sam spat at him, her violet eyes blazing.

"I'm... not trying to do anything." Danny said, blinking at her. For a moment, Sam was taken aback by how honest he looked, but she shook it off again, reminding herself once more that it was all just a trick.

"Sam, that's enough. Leave the poor guy alone." Valerie said, in annoyance. "Jazz, take her to see Mrs. Fenton. Obviously she needs someone to try and help her understand how things work around here. Regardless of your opinions, Sam, we all have to respect the Fenton's orders. And their orders were not to harm Danny."

Jazz nodded in agreement with Valerie. "She's right Sam. Attacking Danny would look bad on your record. Insubordination always does."

Sam grumbled, yanking herself free from Jazz. She took one long, glaring look at Danny before she turned in a huff, storming off.

"I'm sorry again, Danny." Jazz shook her head. "She's a bit overzealous."

"That's the understatement of the century." Valerie muttered under her breath. "Anyways, I'm going back down to clean up the mess we left. See you later, Jazz, Danny." She smiled at the two, heading down the stairs.

"Who was that?" Danny asked, watching her go.

"Valerie Gray, one of my friends. The other girl was Sam Manson. She's one of my friends, too but..." Jazz sighed. "I don't approve of how much she hates ghosts. It's just such a blind hatred, although I can almost understand why she has it. Her parents... were killed in combat..."

"Oh..." Danny said, feeling sad. He knew what killing was, even though he had never seen it first hand. He blinked then. "Ghost?" He asked, sounding confused.

"We... got the results back. You're part-ghost." Jazz said. "You were created by King Plasmius, who we fight against, using his DNA and the DNA of my mother, Maddie Fenton." She smiled slightly. "In other words, you're my half-brother."

"Brother?" Danny asked, sounding confused. He frowned.

Jazz smiled at him. "It means you're part of a family, Danny." That was all she felt that had to be said. "And it means that your family isn't going to allow Plasmius to touch you."

* * *

King Plasmius, as it was, was _furious. _The report had filtered back to him that the rebels had captured his weapon, his _son_, and taken him away to their base. He growled in anger. Where had the rebels gotten the information on the shipping route! He would have to keep a tighter hand on his security now.

He had to get Phantom back. At any cost.


	4. The Suspected and UnSuspected

AN: Allright! Sorry about the lapse in updates, but until recently I was suffering from writer's block. Bleh. I think I've gotten over it now though, and so I present you with chapter four of Blood of a Phantom! (strikes a pose) I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, especially the later part. I have to say, this is my first fic that presents a Danny x Valerie relationship in any way. It'll ulitmatly be Danny x Sam, but there's nothing like a little love triangle to complicate things.

Plus, more good news is that I'm going to be moving very soon to a better computer! Currently, I cannot afford to stay on my computer for more than four hours at a time without a break, so that doesn't give him a whole lot of time to do everything I need to do. But soon I'll have a better one, that doesn't have a broken processor fan! And I'll remember not to kick this one. I learned my lesson the first time.

Or did I?

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman. I am not doing this for any profit... Whoa! How'd all those hundred dollar bills get here? I'm innocent!

* * *

Blood of a Phantom

Chapter Four: The Suspected and UnSuspected

"Danny?"

Danny looked up, looking towards the door. Peering into the room slightly was Maddie Fenton, the woman who he, according to Jazz, shared DNA with. Technically the closest thing besides clone that Jazz could find for his relationship with the woman was that he was her son. The older girl had spent about two hours explaining the concept of family to him, although there were still a few things about the concept that Danny still didn't get.

Maddie smiled at him. "How are you doing?" She asked, coming into the room and closing the door behind her. She had gotten over most of her shock at the fact Danny had turned out to be a clone of her and Vlad.

It still creeped her out a little bit that Vlad had managed to get his hands on some of her DNA and had actually conceived the idea, but none of those emotions transferred over to Danny. He wasn't like Vlad, and he wasn't like her either. He was his own person and therefore he couldn't be blamed for his creator's twisted actions. Maddie didn't want to refer to him as Danny's father, even though technically he was. That was just a bit _too_ creepy for her-and she fought ghosts.

Maddie had spent the past hour lecturing Sam for her rash action against Danny. The girl was now being punished by having to stay in her room for the rest of the day. Maddie would bring her to Danny tomorrow and to make sure that she apologized to him. She couldn't believe that Sam had acted like that, but she should have expected it.

"I'm okay." Danny said, smiling slightly at her.

"I heard Jazz explained things to you." Maddie said, taking a seat next to the raven-haired boy on the bed. "I know it must be very confusing, but trust me, we'll do our best to make your stay here as comfortable as possible."

"Thank you?" Danny said, blinking. It sounded more like a question than an actual expression of gratitude, but he still wasn't certain what was expected of him in situations like this. While Vlad had wired a lot of combat skill into his brain, he had neglected teaching him some quite a number of basic human traits. These things he wanted to teach Danny himself, as something close to a bonding experience.

"And if Sam or anyone else ever troubles you like that again, feel free to come and see me about it. You're part of the family now, even if you are half-ghost." Maddie said, smiling kindly at him. "I always did want a son..." She said, more to herself than to Danny.

Danny simply smiled at her, grateful for both her acceptance, her help, and most importantly, her love.

* * *

Sam Manson sat in her room, grumbling in annoyance. She couldn't _believe _that Maddie was taking that weird ghost boy's side. It was probably just because he shared some of her DNA. The fact that he was almost her son blinded her to the fact that he was a ghost, not a person.

"So what if he has human blood? He was designed to be a _weapon!_" Sam shouted angrily, flinging her arms out in front of her. "This is probably just part of Plasmius' elaborate plot. He'll turn on us soon enough, and then Mrs. Fenton's kindness will be our undoing! I can't believe she's willing to risk everything on him!"

Sam sighed deeply, flopping down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, trying to sort out her thoughts, trying to figure out what to do. There had to be some way to prove that this ghost boy was just that... a ghost.

Unbidden, the image of Danny sleeping floated back into her mind. Her eyes snapped open and she jolted up from her bed, placing a hand on her head. "Why did I just think about that?" She asked herself, sighing and shaking her head. "Come on Sam, don't you be fooled by him too. He might _look _human, but he's not..."

She got up from her bed, pacing impatiently around the room, thoughts racing through her head. "What can I do, What can I do..." She sighed again, closing her eyes, stopping her pacing, taping one foot against the ground as she thought. "What can I do?" She asked again, waiting for an answer to come to her.

* * *

"So, it is Danny, right?"

"Hm?" Danny blinked, looking up from his bowl. After his talk with Maddie, or his mother, he had felt hungry again, so he found his way back to the dining hall. People were giving him odd looks as he wandered about the halls, but he figured that it was most likely because they had heard about what he was, and where he came from. It must have felt to them like their leader had let an enemy in.

Still, he had made it to the dining hall without incident, and had managed to acquire a bowl of noodles without any confrontation. He was quietly munching on them, sitting far away from the rest of the people who were also currently eating. It was almost inevitable that they would turn and look at him, then turn back to each other and begin to talk. Danny could only assume that they were talking about him.

He was surprised to see that one of them had actually approached him. Upon further observation of the teenage girl standing in front of him, he realized that he recognized her. She had been the third girl from earlier, the one with Sam and Jazz. He frowned, trying to recall if he had gotten her name or not. He soon remembered that Jazz had told him her name.

"Valerie." Danny said, as if to test it out. He then remembered that she had just asked him a question, and nodded. "It's Danny."

The African-American female smiled and sat down next to him, placing her tray down in front of her. "You're eating all alone?" She asked, to which Danny nodded. "Well, do you mind if I give you some company?"

Danny blinked slightly, surprised by her offer. He hadn't expected that. "Uh... sure... I mean, I don't mind. You can stay..." He said, practically whispering the last part. Needless to say, he didn't have much experience with people. He had only technically been 'alive' for about a day.

Valerie flashed another smile. "Thanks." She said, slightly amused at how nervous the cloned hybrid seemed. Valerie had decided that while she was still slightly suspicious of the boy, that she would at least test the waters before she jumped ship like Sam had. While she knew what Sam must have been feeling, she didn't take such an extreme view of hate. She was able to register that there were good ghosts around too-such as Dora, or the other few that floated about the halls here and there.

"So, how are you enjoying Amity Park so far?" She asked, after taking a small bite of her ham sandwich. "I hope no one else has tried to attack you." She added, ignoring the fact that there were now several suspicious looks being cast her way, and the whispers had increased.

"It's okay..." Danny mumbled quietly, feeling awkward. He took a slight nibble of one of his noodles before he shook his head. "And nobody's attacked me."

"That's good." Valerie said. She could tell now that he was definitely nervous, and wondered whether or not it was because it was her he was talking to, or that just the presence of anyone unfamiliar unnerved him. She was opting for the latter. Human interaction must have been confusing for him, especially since Plasmius most likely wouldn't have implanted that much information in that area in his brain.

That suspicion furthered her belief that the fact that Danny was here wasn't a trap. Surely if Vlad wanted to use him as some sort of spy or double agent, he would have made him a little bit more sociable and less awkward. She could tell that Danny had no clue what he was doing.

It was almost cute.

A silence hung in the air after she spoke, neither of them able to think of anything to say, both quietly eating. Eventually, Danny swallowed one of his noodles and looked at the girl. "Um... do you like it here?" He asked awkwardly, wondering whether or not that was a good question.

Valerie smiled. "Well, it isn't the Taj Mahal, but it's nice all the same."

Danny blinked at her, slightly clueless. "Taj Mahal?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

Valerie laughed, her smile widening. "Oh. It's a monument in India. Basically, what I'm saying is that while it's not exactly the height of luxury in Amity Park, that doesn't mean that I don't love it here all the same."

"Oh..." Danny said, blinking, taking in the new information. "I get it." He smiled, then blinked a bit, frowning slightly. "I think."

"Danny! Valerie!"

The two looked up to see Jazz walking towards them, holding a tray that contained a chicken salad on it. She smiled widely, taking a seat besides Danny, and across from Valerie. "Hey. Mind if I join you two?" She asked, even though she had already done so. Danny and Valerie both nodded, and her smile grew. "Great!"

When Jazz had arrived in the dining hall, she was a bit surprised, but also quite pleased, to see that Danny and Valerie were sitting together. She was glad that someone here besides her and her family was giving Danny a chance. She had to admit, for awhile she was actually worried about how Valerie might react. The African-American ghost huntress wasn't exactly a ghost's best friend, but she also hadn't gone through the rather horrific experience that Sam had, so Jazz hadn't been quite sure where her reaction would fall. She was pleased that it had fallen where it did. Danny needed as many friends as he could get now, to help ease his transition into life in the rebel city.

"So how do you like it here so far Danny?" Jazz asked, her question echoing Valerie's earlier one.

"It's okay, so far." Danny said, repeating his answer.

Jazz smiled. "Great! I'm glad things are going so well!" The older girl was actually a bit surprised that no one besides Sam had tried anything on Danny. She cast an eye around the cafeteria, trying to see how the people around were reacting. Most who were looking at the three quickly turned their heads away when they realized that they were being spied on. Jazz frowned slightly, before she turned back to Danny, praying that Sam was the only one with such extreme feelings.

But she already knew that wasn't the case.

* * *

Vlad Plasmius, Ruler of the World, was very, very angry. He paced the throne room of his palace back and forth, his brow furrowed deeply. He hadn't expected that his prize creation, his son and his strongest weapon against the rebels could have been taken from him.

He cursed himself for not having the foresight to imprint his orders into Phantom's brain beforehand. If he had done that, then this whole mess could have been avoided, and he would have an insider on the rebel's side.

He stopped then, a wicked grin crossing his face. How foolish of him to forget that he _did _have an insider on the rebel's side. He let out an amused chuckle, heading over towards the main computer that ran the majority of his spying equipment on Earth. Or at the monitor of it. He wasn't a foolish man, he had made sure his processor was safely secure in space, using the one from that Axion company that he had bought out years ago, long before the invasion ever took place.

Flicking on the monitor, he brought up a videophone. With any luck, his contact would be in her room right now, pampering herself as she usually did. While he might have desired someone with more brainpower to work in such a position, this girl would have to do. Her vanity made her quite simple to manipulate. All he had to do was tell her he would give her power and wealth, and she would do whatever he told her too.

Just as he expected, the girl answered her phone rather promptly, her excited expression falling slightly when she discovered it was just her employer, and not another adoring fan of beauty. She straightened out her sleeveless pink sweater a bit, smoothing down her lavender mini-skirt, and scooted her chair closer to the phone, placing on a pair of bright pink headphones, so that no one walking by could hear that she was talking to the enemy.

"Lord Plasmius..." The Latino girl began, "...to what do I owe the honor of you calling?" _And preventing any one of my adorers from calling?_ She thought to herself.

"Miss Sanchez... I'm afraid I'm in need of a favor." Plasmius began, carefully plotting what he should order the girl to do.

"Is it about your little weapon?" The Latino girl asked, looking up from filing her nails. She had started to do that a few seconds after she had found out who was calling. "Everybody around here is talking about him."

"Would you be a dear and tell me what it is that they're saying?" He asked. This was another reason that she was a good contact. As a social butterfly, she never missed a chance at any gossip. And while some of it was rumor, Plasmius had a knack for determining the truth from silly teenage babble.

"Well, let's see..." Paulina frowned, putting together all she had heard about him in her head. "Apparently, Mrs. Fenton named him Danny, and she knows about how you made him. Her and everyone else around here."

Plasmius winced inwardly at that, though he showed no sign of it on the outside. There was something he definitely didn't want people to know. While it was true that he had made Phantom in part to be his son, his primary focus at the moment was to be his weapon.

"Well, what do they say about him?" He asked, shaking off other thoughts.

"He's the hot topic to debate right now. Some people say he's evil, and is trying to undermine our operation, and others say that he's good, because obviously Mrs. Fenton's DNA is stronger than your ghost DNA, and other people just don't care." She looked up from filing her nails. "That Manson girl seems to have pretty much made up her mind about him though. She tried to kill him, but Jazz and that Valerie girl got in the way."

"Really now?" Plasmius asked, arching an eyebrow. "That _is _interesting. What was the fate of this Manson girl?"

"Well, they took her to Mrs. Fenton, and she gave her a lecture, and punished her by locking her into her room. Why?" Paulina asked, curious. "Do you want to speak with her? Trust me, she'd never do anything you'd ask. She's _weird._"

"Well, she doesn't need to know that she's helping me." A smirk spread across Plasmius's face. "I need you to do two things for me, Miss Sanchez."

"What's in it for me?" She asked, placing her nail file down on the counter. "I've already spent all the money you wired me last time I helped you."

"Hm. Well, in a way, Miss Sanchez, I feel that I shouldn't give you anything because you failed to preform your job and inform me that the rebels knew about my weapon, and knew on which route I was transporting it. If you had informed me prior to their attack, I could have changed plans, and walked them right into a trap, as I did at Fell Creek." Plasmius said, frowning deeply. That was the _bad _thing about this contact.

"Did I _not _just say that the money you sent me ran out?" The Latino girl said, sounding offended. "I don't work for _free_ you know."

Plasmius sighed. "Very well. I will wire the normal amount of money into your account." The Latino girl seemed content with this, and so the ghost hybrid continued on with his plan. "What I need you to do for me is this..."

* * *

"Yoo-hoo! Sam!"

The black and violet Hazmat-clad teenager looked up, confused at who she saw in the window. "Paulina?" She asked slowly, arching an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Fenton sent me, and told me that she's letting you out to go to lunch." The Latino smiled. Lying came as naturally to her as breathing did. She swiped a stolen keyboard in front of the Goth girl's door, opening it up. "Come on, I'm sure you're starving."

"What do you care anyways?" Sam asked slowly. Paulina had always hated her. Not that it bothered Sam much, since she hated her back. There was something about the preppy Latino that she just didn't trust, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Maybe it was just because she didn't like her, and she was being overly paranoid.

"I heard you attacked the ghost boy." Paulina said, smiling. "Do you really think he's evil?" She asked.

"Of course he's evil! He's a ghost!" Sam glared at her, even more annoyed when she saw that the Latino seemed to be ignoring her, straightening the straps on her platform sandals. When she finally looked back up, Sam was twitching. She _hated _being ignored.

"Oh, I don't know. I passed him in the hall earlier, when I was doing some of my rounds, and he seemed perfectly sweet." She said, smiling.

Sam arched an eyebrow. "While you were doing your rounds?" She asked. Paulina nodded, and Sam frowned. She knew that Paulina's job was to feed the human prisoners, and she also knew that along with the human prisoners that they had ghost prisoners. Danny must have gone down there to try something. Her eyes narrowed further. She _had _to try and stop him from doing whatever he was planning.

That was when the alarm was sounded. Sam knew what it was, she had heard it several times before. It was the alarm that was rung when a prisoner was escaping. Moments later, a voice came across on the intercom.

"All combatants please report to Cell Block B. Prisoner Skulker has escaped. I repeat, Prisoner Skulker has escaped." The voice on the intercom blared. "Escapee is of ghost class B. I repeat, ghost class B. All combatants please report. All non-combatants, please hurry to safe housing."

"I knew it..." Sam whispered, before she turned and took off in the direction of the Cell Block. Paulina watched her go, tucking the cell key to Skulker's door away. Perhaps this time her employer would be so impressed with the work that she had done, that would give her a rather generous bonus.


	5. The WeaponMind

AN: Chapter Five is here! I was stuck in a bit of a muck for a part of this one, until I realized that I would have to change my original plan for this chapter in order to make it work properly. So, here we go! Chapter Five! (Strikes a pose) Please read and review! Reviews make me happeh. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go waste my brain cells watching some Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

Oh, and before I forget, check out this totally awesome piece of fanart that was given to be by my good friend Nom-chan! I command you all to go give her love! www. deviantart. com / view / 35814150 / (Take out the spaces)

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman.

* * *

Blood of a Phantom  
Chapter Five: The Weapon-Mind

"All combatants please report to Cell Block B. Prisoner Skulker has escaped. I repeat, Prisoner Skulker has escaped." The voice on the intercom blared. "Escapee is of ghost class B. I repeat, ghost class B. All combatants please report. All non-combatants, please hurry to safe housing."

Jazz, Valerie, and Danny, as well as the rest of the people in the dining hall halted their conversations and eating, staring at the whirling red alarm box. Valerie cursed under her breath, dropping her fork and heading out of the room, running towards the cell block designated in the warning.

Jazz turned back to Danny, staring at him with worry. "Danny, come on, we have to get to some shelter." She said, taking his wrist. The raven-haired boy stared up at her, confused and uncertain. "Come on!" Jazz hissed, tugging on his wrist, practically dragging the boy behind her.

Danny followed behind her, uncertain of what was going on. He had heard the alarm, just as everyone else, but he still was slightly confused by what was happening. He tugged back on Jazz's wrist, causing the older girl to turn around. "What's happening?" He asked, glancing around the emptying dining hall.

When he did, he noticed that several people were casting looks back at him, wondering if perhaps he had something to do with it.

"A ghost has escaped. A dangerous one, if it's as high up as B Class." Jazz explained. She remembered Skulker very well. At one time, before the rebels had captured him, he had been Plasmius' right hand man. He had fallen into their hands during the Battle for Amity Park, and Maddie had chosen to imprison him instead of destroy him. As Plasmius' main aide, he would be an invaluable source of information. "It's not safe to stay out here."

Danny looked down in the direction that Valerie had run off in, then looked back worriedly at Jazz. "But what about Valerie? What about her?" He asked. She was one of the few people who had been kind to him, and he didn't like the idea of her getting hurt.

"She'll be fine. Trust me." Jazz reassured him. "She's almost as good at fighting ghosts as my mother. Now come on!" She tugged at his wrist again, hoping to get him to move.

"Well, isn't this touching?" An amused voice asked. Jazz whipped around, coming face to face with a battlesuit-clad ghost, it's blazing green eyes staring down rather imposingly at her.

Jazz let out a slight yelp of surprise. She hadn't expected that Skulker would have gotten this far already. Normally the alarm would have gone off as soon as he escaped. There was no way he could have gotten from the cell block to the dining hall this quickly.

She tightened her grip around Danny's wrist. Something about this smelled of foul play. Someone with access to the prisons must have let Skulker go, probably to frame Danny.

"So this is Plasmius' little project?" The robotic ghost asked, staring beyond Jazz and at Danny. Jazz glanced back as much as she dared, then blinked, turning around to stare at him fully. "Impressive..." She heard the ghost say behind her.

"Danny...?" She asked slowly. The raven-haired boy didn't seem afraid or confused. Rather, his face wore an expression of determination, his light blue eyes narrowed.

The boy glanced at her, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Most of his attention was still focused on Skulker. He didn't know who this ghost was, but he had a pretty good idea of what he wanted. He knew the name Plasmius. That was who Maddie-his mother, said had created him. That was who his mother had said wanted to use him as some kind of weapon to destroy her, as well as all of the rebels here.

Danny didn't like the idea of being used as a weapon.

"Feisty, aren't we?" Skulker asked. "Now come boy, your father is eagerly awaiting your arrival. You don't want to keep him waiting, do you?" The ghost followed the line of Danny's vision to Jazz, an amused smirk appearing on his face. "Oh, are you worried about this girl? This _human _girl?" He laughed. "You're a ghost, Phantom, not a human. You're not one of them. You're one of us."

Danny glared at him, clenching his fists. "Plasmius wants to use me as a weapon." He hissed, "But the people I've met here just want me to live." His eyes narrowed further. Jazz let out a surprised gasp, seeing that his light blue human eyes had suddenly shifted, changing into bright green dead ones.

Like a ghost's.

Skulker let out a laugh. "Oh please. Do you actually think these people here like you?" He let out another laugh. "The only reason they're keeping you here is so that you can't be used against them. And in time, I'm sure they'll start asking you for little favors here and there..."

"That isn't true!"

Skulker and Danny turned, somewhat surprised at Jazz's interruption. She was staring at Danny, her aqua eyes almost pleading. "It isn't true, Danny. I _don't _consider you a weapon and neither do my parents. _Your _parents." She said. "You might not be my mother's son through conventional means, but she loves you like one already regardless of that. So does my father, and so do I! You may have been made to be a weapon, but you are so much more than that, Danny." She stared into his changed eyes, her voice softening. "You're my brother."

"Be silent!" Skulker hissed, a rocket launcher popping up from his left shoulder armor. Jazz let out a yell, barely having time to close her eyes before he fired them at her. She braced herself as best she could, and prayed that this wouldn't be her end.

No impact came, and Jazz flung her eyes open, baffled. She let out another surprised gasp, staring up at the sight in front of her. She hadn't realized it, but she had fallen on the floor. She pulled herself up, brushing some hair out of her face. "Danny...?" She asked slowly, uncertain.

The lanky teenager in front of her was no longer as she had remembered him to be. Gone was his black hair, replaced by pure white. All the color vanished from his skin, leaving it a milky white. His ears had been tipped off into points, and there were black markings around his wrists and ankles. In front of him where the fading remnants of what Jazz knew to be an ecto-shield.

The white-haired boy turned around slowly, and Jazz let out another gasp. His eyes color too, had changed, from light blue to a ghostly bright green. They stood out in his otherwise colorless form. "Sorry." He apologized, though not saying what for.

Jazz didn't need to hear what for though. She knew what he was sorry for. She stared at him, more shocked than angry. "You knew?" She whispered. The ghost hybrid slowly nodded. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Skulker let out a loud laugh then. "Well, well, it seems that Master Plasmius' little weapon isn't half-bad after all! But I tell you boy, you're fighting on the wrong side."

Danny's now-green eyes narrowed, his right arm becoming encompassed by glowing green energy. He thrust it forward at the hunter ghost, the energy flowing down in a rush to his hand and blasting at Skulker at a breakneck speed. The battlesuit-clad ghost had no time to react, and could only let himself be smashed into the wall behind him.

"You can tell your _Plasmius_ that I know perfectly well what I'm doing." The white-haired ghost boy said coldly.

Jazz's heart skipped a beat when Danny spoke. What he had said, combined with the way he had said it, sounded alien to her ears-it didn't sound like the Danny that she had been getting to know. It was almost as if he had gone through a drastic personality shift as well as an appearance shift. She slowly pulled herself up off of the ground, moving over towards the white-haired ghost, opening and closing her mouth a few times before she got words out.

"Danny?" She whispered. "Why didn't you tell us you knew what you were?" She asked again, placing a hand on his shoulder, only to recoil it in shock when she noticed just how much his body temperature had dropped.

Danny didn't turn to look at her, he still had his eyes fixed to Skulker's form. It wasn't moving, but he didn't believe for one second that he was knocked out. He was most likely trying to lull him into a false sense of security, and strike when he let his guard down.

He did, however, answer Jazz's question. "I didn't want to risk it." He said, cooly. "You were all kind to me, and I have no illusions about what the person who created me wants me for. It's all in my head." He said, tilting his head slightly for emphasis. "He might have made me to be a son for him, but until the rebels are suppressed, he feels that it would be much better to have a weapon instead."

Jazz stared at him, her aqua eyes wide, stunned at the information she had just been given, as well as the fact that his words had just confirmed to her that his personality was different. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say to that, but nothing came to mind. She was reeling from shock, too many thoughts flying through her head for her to focus on anyone of them and express it to him.

_He knew? He knew all this time what he was?_ She thought, staring at him, her eyes drifting over his colorless skin, pausing on the markings on his stomach and wrists. Her eyes trailed back upwards to his face, taking in the colorless hair and pointed ears, before slowly moving down to the shock of bright green that his eyes provided. She followed his gaze, finding that it was locked onto the unmoving form of Skulker. If this had been any other time, Jazz would have moved to call for backup to help with Skulker, but she couldn't be to certain if they would take Danny for an enemy as well.

_How much does he know? It's all inside of his head... what does that mean?_ Her brain was practically screaming at her, and she was amazed by the fact that her thoughts weren't actually loud enough to be heard like she was normally speaking.

_And this... this personality... how he was before, was that him too, or was he just acting to try and blend in with us?_ Everything that the firey redhead had learned about psychology was failing her now. No situation that she had dealt with before this could help her discern what was happening now._ He couldn't have two personalities to match his two forms?_ She thought, her gaze still fixed to his bright eyes.

_Then this is... the..._ Her gaze trailed downwards, her eyes stopping once they met with the sight of the project barcode on his back. She had seen it on the back of Danny's black-haired form as well-the large barcode with the word 'PHANTOM' spelled out in numbers.

"...Weapon..."

Jazz started, her eyes going wide. She didn't just say that aloud, did she? She then slowly realized that it wasn't even her voice that had uttered them, and that whoever had was still speaking. Snapping fully back into reality, she let her eyes guide her to the voice's source, letting out a squeak of surprise to find that it was Sam-and that she had an ecto-cannon trained at Danny.

"I heard that little speech you made." She was saying, sounding almost smug. It was clear from the expression on her face that she felt quite proud of herself, and that she believed all of her suspicions about Danny had just been confirmed. "So you _are _just a weapon, and you _were _lying to us!" She smirked. "I knew it."

Danny gritted his teeth, sensing the threat coming from his side, but unable to turn to face it directly because the threat from Skulker was still there. Jazz was right about what this side of him was-this _was _the weapon. This had been the form that he was supposed to originally woken up in, but Vlad hadn't counted on the fact that his human DNA would overpower the ghost ones, causing him to wake up in his human form. Which form he woke up in would affect his mind set until he went back to sleep in the containment pod.

But since he had instead been woken up as a human, his more human mind had become the dominant one. Even now, the ghost hybrid could feel it there-otherwise, he most likely would have already destroyed the hunter ghost. But his human mind worried that if he let himself go like that, then Jazz and the others who had begun to accept him would turn on him, and he didn't want that. Even the weapon-mind had to admit that he liked this place better than what was placed inside his head about Vlad, and his plans for him.

Vlad had been planning on him to wake up first in the mind set of the weapon, using him to wipe out the rebellion. Afterwards, he was planning to put the boy back to sleep until he had finished molding his human side's mind to his pleasing. He hadn't been counting on the fact that the delivery of his weapon would be intercepted, or that his weapon would be woken up in his unfinished human side.

When it came down to it, Danny's human side really wasn't even completely finished. Vlad had ordered the scientists who had created the test tube teenager to concentrate mostly on perfecting his ghost form for now. Therefore, beyond the things that the scientists felt would be necessary for the ghost form to operate properly, not much work had been put into his human form. But even though it was unfinished, it still overpowered the ghost form.

Vlad had planned on having the ghost and human halves of Project Phantom separate, but because of these events, the human half had no choice but to fall back on some of the genetics made for his ghost form, giving him the ability to tap into his ghost powers as a human, as well as the fact that his human mind could now influence the weapon mind.

"Well? Aren't you going to try and defend yourself?" Sam asked, releasing the safety on the cannon, her finger inching towards the trigger. She had been so caught up in Danny's words that she had neglected to notice that a motionless Skulker was nearby. "Come on. Why don't you show me what Plasmius' weapon can do?" She asked, her hand pulling the trigger, charging up an ecto-blast from the cannon, firing it at the ghost hybrid.

Everything happened in almost a blur then. Danny whipped around then, moving quickly to throw up and ecto-shield, tearing his attention away from the motionless Skulker. The hunter ghost, sensing his chance, roared back into action, releasing a blast of what appeared to be ecto-energy and electrical charge. Danny was caught between the two blasts, but it was too late to try and divide his focus. The human influence in him caused him to panic, his shield faltering just as the cannon's ecto-blast approached.

Then there was a scream, the two blasts smashing into each other and kicking up a blinding light as they simultaneously met their mark. Those who were watching looked away, shielding their eyes from the light that they emitted, only chancing to look back once it had died down.

Neither of those who had shot found what they expected too. Danny was on the ground, yes, but he was looking just as shocked as they were, staring at the one who had been where he should have.

Jazz.

Sam dropped the cannon, her violet eyes going wide with shock. Jazz had... why had Jazz just done that? She stared at the firey red head, all of the color draining out of her face. She knew Jazz had heard the same words from the ghost boy as she had, and she couldn't understand why she hadn't come to the conclusion she had. Why did she protect him?

It dawned on her then, the reason why glaring at her.

She had been wrong.

She had jumped to conclusions, and hers had been the wrong one.

Jazz let out a cough then, the slight sound of it intensified in the silent hallway. Her left arm, the one that had been in the direct line of fire from Skulker's blast was charred, practically reeking of dead meat. Blood trickled from it, and hints of bones could be glimpsed through the ruined skin, on which pieces of her sweater had been fused onto.

The damage from the canon's ecto-blast had been less drastic-it had been designed to hurt ghosts, not humans. But that didn't mean that it couldn't. Instead of tearing apart it's target like it normally would have, the blast had become one of pressure. The firey red-head could feel that some of her ribs had been broken for certain by the impact, her shoulder bones jarred out of place. The pain she was feeling was almost like a blessing-it was proof that her spine had been broken.

She let out a ragged breath, looking slowly up at the stunned white-haired boy in front of her. She had seen him panic, and that was all she needed to snap her all the way out of her shock. Whatever Danny was, she knew that in a strange way, he was still technically her brother. And there was something inside her that just wouldn't let her stand by to watch him get hurt.

The ghost hybrid moved out of the position that he had been pushed down in, kneeling by the red-head. "Why... why did you do that?" He asked slowly, neither the weapon mind or the unfinished human mind able to understand it.

She smiled weakly at him, one of her eyes closed from the pain. She wanted desperately to pass out from the pain, but she knew that she couldn't, not yet. "Because... you're like my brother..." She whispered, licking her lips around her mouth as she spoke, testing for blood. She was silently relieved when she found none- it meant that her lungs hadn't been pierced. "Because... that's what... families do for each other..." She moved her good hand, touching his. "And because... I trust you."

Her vision of him blurred then, and her eyes slammed down shut, her body slowly falling down towards the floor. Danny sprang from his numbed state, catching her before she collided with it, and lowering her down gently to it.

"Hmph."

Danny's attention shifted upon hearing the scoff, his eyes blazing with a new fury, glaring at the hunter ghost. He stood up, clenching his fists, his human mind releasing any restraints it had placed on the weapon inside of him.

It started and ended in the small amount of time it took for Sam to get to her feet and move over to Jazz, trying to see for herself the extent of the damage that she, in part, had caused, kneeling down by her.

The ghost hybrid slammed into the hunter ghost, colliding his knee into his armor, shattering it upon impact. Ecto-energy covered his hand as he clenched it into a fist, delivering a hard blow to his right shoulder, which pierced all the way through the armor. His leg landed back on the ground as he ducked down, sweeping the ghost off of it's feet, springing up once he had fallen and stepping on it's back, completing the shattering of the stomach armor that he had begun moments ago.

He reached down and clutched the head armor, crushing it in his hands, hearing a yowl of pain as he did so. He let it go, the ecto-energy around his hands fading away, as the wounded ghost emerged from the helmet-a pathetic creature, barely bigger than a hand. Looking up, it scrambled as quickly as it could over to the right hand of it's ruined armor, falling down with all it's might on a button there.

A green light encompassed everything, followed by a powerful gust of wind. The reinforcements who were just arriving at the scene, drawn by the commotion, stared in bafflement as they entered an empty hallway.

Maddie came down in a rush only minutes later, called in by one of the soldiers. Sweeping the area with a scanner, her lips set in a grim expression as she looked up at all of those who had assembled there.

"They've been taken to the Ghost Zone."


	6. The Ghost Zone

**AN: **Yay Chapter Six! Wow, two stories updated in two days. I feel all special. Blargh, I'm tired though. Tonight, I am so getting some sleep. So yesh... Read and review, as always! Ciao for now!

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman.

* * *

Blood of a Phantom

Chapter Six: The Ghost Zone

"What the hell just happened?"

Nineteen-year old Sam Manson had jolted straight up from her kneeling position, looking around in a panic. The second she had seen the flash of light start up, she knew that something bad was going to happen, and that she was going to get caught in the middle of it. She had braced herself for whatever it might do, but she hadn't expected it would do _this_.

Her violet eyes scanned the area around her, trying to find some signs of familiarity. She found none however. Not even the same blue sky-the sky, in fact, was _green_. She, Jazz, and the Phantom project, were currently on a large, rather barren slab of floating rock, one of many in the area. Floating along with the slabs of rock were also doors of various shapes, sizes, colors, and designs. This was a place she had most certainly _never _seen before.

Danny frowned, likewise scanning the area, in much less of a panic than Sam. While he hadn't seen the area they were in either, a part of his brain was already feeding him answers about it. "I think we're in the Ghost Zone." He stated, turning back to the raven-haired girl. "We must have gotten caught up in Skulker's escape portal and were dropped here."

A slight groan drew the two's attention back to the wounded and unconscious Jazz. Sam and Danny exchanged looks with each other, their uncertain views of each other suspended for the moment. Things such as dealing with the situation at hand and taking care of the wounded Jazz were more important right now.

Sam knelt down by her, taking in the damage she had been dealt. Danny hovered above her, uncertain. He had never been around a wounded person before, and the fact that she had gotten so badly wounded trying to protect him made this even more confusing to him.

Not to mention the fact that he couldn't stop staring at her arm-or what _was _her arm. Now it was mostly a useless lump of dead flesh. It would most likely have to be amputated. But it wasn't the fact that he was disturbed by how much damage was done to it that caused him to stare. No, it was the fact that she was bleeding.

He couldn't help but stare at the blood. Eventually, his pacing halted and he simply stood, staring at it. Something about it was so intoxicating to him, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. The part of his mind that was furthest in his weapon mindset wanted to discover what the wondrous scarlet substance tasted like.

The human part of his mind, however, was screaming at him, telling him that the thoughts running through his mind weren't right. He continued to stand frozen in place, his bright green eyes fixed firmly on the ruined lump of an arm, and the blood that was still slowly trickling from it. The two conflicting sides in him prevent him from doing anything, each of them trying to battle it out on what he should do.

"Hey!" A demanding voice snapped him out of his trance, and he blinked, looking towards Sam. She was staring at him strangely, the expression on her face a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "What's wrong with you? Why were you staring at her arm like that?"

Despite the fact that she was tolerating his presence now, she still couldn't help but not trust this boy. She knew that Jazz believed in him enough to let herself get severely injured to protect him, and she knew that Jazz was usually a good judge of character as well. She knew that had to mean that this boy-Phantom, Danny, or whatever- couldn't be as bad as she originally thought.

But his rather violent display after Jazz had been injured had served to remind her, even in her state of shock for having accidentally hurt one of her closest friends, that he was still designed to be a weapon. She couldn't help but be suspicious of him.

"It's nothing..." The white-haired ghost hybrid lied. It looked like this girl was still suspicious of him after all. To be honest, he wasn't really surprised. "We need to figure out a way to get out of here."

She frowned at that. "You're a ghost and you don't know?" While she knew that he was technically not a full ghost, she wasn't quite ready to accept him as being human either. Maybe that would come later, but it would depend on his actions. As much as she hated to admit it, she had been wrong earlier. She had judged him without ever giving him a chance, and that was the worst kind of thing a person could do.

"I've never been here before." His mouth twisted into a frown. "I was created, not born, remember? I never died, so I never had to come here before." Unlike his human mindset, his weapon mindset really had no problem with how he came into existence. It was just another fact of life to him.

"Well, you knew where we were." Sam arched an eyebrow, her violet eyes looking over him. Was it just her, or had his personality changed? Granted, she didn't know him too well before this, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the differences went more than skin-deep.

"That's because it was already imprinted in my memory." The ghost hybrid explained as he kneeled down next to Jazz, making sure that he was on the opposite side of the destroyed arm.

"Imprinted?" The raven-haired girl asked, crossing her arms, frowning slightly. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Her tone was suspicious, but she couldn't keep some slight curiosity out of it. She had to admit that was a bit intrigued by how he had come into existence.

"It's like your memories." He explained, his blazing green eyes glancing at her through his shroud of hair. "My minds had to be built from scratch, otherwise I would only have the mentality of a baby right now."

"I see..." She frowned, for some reason, something about that explanation struck her as odd. It wasn't that she thought he was lying, she had no doubts that he was telling the truth, but it was something else. Her violet eyes widened as it hit her. "...minds?" She asked, her voice sounding weak to her ears.

"Yes, minds." The green-eyed boy said, rolling his eyes. "It's a bit complicated, but essentially Plasmius created me for two purposes. Primarily I was made to be a weapon, but once my use as one was finished, I was also designed to be his son." His mouth twisted into a frown. "Which, now that I think about it, is rather creepy."

Sam stared at him, trying to put together the information that he had given her in her mind. _He has two minds? Or two personalities? ...then right now, I am talking to a weapon, aren't I?_ She frowned. _But he doesn't exactly seem all that much like one. He's different from the blue-eyed Phantom... but there's still some of him in him._

"How do you know all this?" She asked, slightly wary now.

"It's imprinted in my brain. My human mindset might lack quite a bit of information on his origins, but I do not." He frowned. "Though it seems that we're not entirely separate anymore, like it was originally planned. I wasn't supposed to be woken up as a human." His frown turned into an almost amused smile then. "Of course, I wasn't meant to be captured by rebels either, but I don't mind it."

"...So... you are a weapon?" The raven-haired girl asked suspiciously, her hand hovering just above her belt where her ecto-pistol hung. "A ghost...?"

His bright green eyes slid over towards her hovering hand, sighing slightly. "I know you don't trust me, and I'm not going to lie to convince you to. Unlike my human mindset, it's something I'm not capable of." He placed his fingers on Jazz's wrist as he spoke, checking her pulse. "Good, she's still alive. If we make it out of here, I'm sure she'll be fine."

He placed her hand down gently, looking back up at the violet-eyed girl. He found himself pausing briefly over them-they were a very unusual, though not entirely displeasing color for a human. He shook his head, wondering where on earth that thought had come from. "If you have any questions, then I suggest you ask them now."

Sam's hand dropped away from her ecto-pistol, seeing that she wasn't going to need it. "If you're King Plasmius' weapon, then how come you haven't attacked anyone at the rebel base yet? He designed you to destroy us, didn't he?"

"I have free will." The ghost hybrid said simply, adjusting his position so that he was more comfortable, crossing his legs Indian-style. "Mindless weapons only work in theory. On the battlefield, a weapon would be useless if it couldn't think for itself and make important decisions at crucial moments."

Sam frowned. That sounded reasonable enough. "Isn't it strange to address yourself that way? As a weapon?" She asked, feeling stupid for it. It did sound like a foolish question now that it had left her lips.

"My human mindset might, but I don't. I _am _a weapon. It's only by pure chance that some human emotions have worked their way into me."

"Which of you is more dominant?" Sam asked, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. "You or your human... mindset?" She said the last word with uncertainty. All of this sounded quite strange to her, and yet the way he explained it made sense.

"Neither. We're both in agreement in when we should become the other." The ghost hybrid explained, placing his hands in his lap.

"Why isn't he out now?" She asked, her gaze sliding back down to the unconscious Jazz. "I would think that he would want to be here to try and help his..." She paused on the word. "...sister." Technically speaking, Jazz _was _this strange boy's half-sister.

"He's a human, and I'm a ghost. And we are in the Ghost Zone." His gaze slid around the floating doorways around them, knowing that Sam's eyes followed his. His gaze went back to the girl. "You two stick out as it is. And doubtless by now Plasmius' lackey has reported in to him and told him that we're here."

Sam practically jolted up then. "_What!_" She looked around again, her eyes frantic. "Why didn't you say anything? It's too dangerous to be sitting around asking questions!"

The ghost hybrid merely arched an eyebrow, making no move to get up. "I thought you knew, judging from the fact that he isn't here right now."

"I had my mind on other things." She shot a glare at him, her violet eyes flashing in anger.

The hybrid merely shook his head. "In any case, we need to take care of her first." He said, motioning with his head towards Jazz. Sam let out an annoyed sigh, knowing that he was right. "You wouldn't happen to have any bandages on you?" He asked her, his eyes sliding over her body once more.

Sam shook her head, feeling slightly un-nerved by the way he was looking at her, a bit of a shiver running down her spine. "No, I don't."

He sighed. "I thought not." He frowned, flicking his right wrist outwards a bit. Sam let out an involuntary yelp as claw-like nails sprung from his fingers. The hybrid frowned, cocking one eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, puzzled at her reaction.

"How did you do that?" Her hand was once again hovering over her ecto-pistol, staring at him with a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

"I'm a weapon, remember?" He pointed out, as he reached down to his pant legs, using the claws to cut away at the material there. He flicked his wrist again, and the claws vanished. "Here, use this to tie up her wound." He handed them to Sam, who took them, blinking.

"Uh... right." She stammered, taking the cloth and wrapping it tightly around Jazz's arm. The older girl groaned slightly as she did so, but she remained unconscious. Sam hadn't expected this from him, though honestly, she wasn't sure what to expect from him anymore. He seemed to keep on surprising her.

"There." She looked up at him once she had completed his work. She blinked a few times as she saw a slight smile break on his face. There was another thing she hadn't expected from him. She felt a slight heat build up at her cheeks and coughed to cover it. "So, um what now?"

_Why am I blushing? _The raven-haired girl was shouting at herself inside her mind. _He's just a ghost Sam. Well, half-ghost but... still! He's not even real, he's just a test tube creature. There's nothing in the slightest attractive about him, so why were you just blushing? Argh, stupid hormones!_

"We find our way out of here." He said simply, seemingly unaware of the slight red on Sam's cheeks. He moved from his sitting position, and carefully picked up Jazz, holding her in his arms. He cast one bright green eye back at Sam. "You can't fly, so you'll need to hold onto my back." As he spoke, he kneeled slightly, allowing the shorter girl access to his back.

Sam twitched slightly, half having the mind to say no, but she knew he was right. She couldn't fly, and she'd rather not be stuck here in this strange place. He sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. Danny easily lifted the three of them up into the air, beginning to search for a way out.

* * *

Danny had not been mistaken when he guessed at what Skulker might be doing. The hunter ghost, was, in fact, now contacting his master, King Plasmius. After returning to his lair, he had entered into one of his spare suits, making himself presentable to speak to the King. It wouldn't do for him to talk to him while he was nothing more than a blob of ectoplasmic energy with arms and legs.

"Ah, Skulker. So good to hear from you after so long." King Plasmius greeted him. "Tell me, what's become of my son?" He asked, wasting no time in getting straight to the point. He had no doubts in Skulker's efficiency, he was, after all, the Greatest Hunter in the Ghost Zone, but he also had no illusions about how much stronger Phantom was.

"Forgive me my King. I'm afraid the boy defeated me. He is quite well made, you should be proud." The hunter ghost answered, bracing himself for his King's wrath.

"I see..." Plasmius arched his eyebrow, his tone cold. "What news do you have of him then, Skulker? That damned human girl isn't picking up the phone."

"He seems to have become quite taken to the Fentons." Skulker began. "He followed what their daughter said, instead of me." He frowned. "Interestingly enough, it appeared as if this was the first time the girl has seen him as a ghost. Apparently, he awakened as a human."

Plasmius' frown deepened, his brow furrowing in thought. "That wasn't supposed to happen... I am deeply troubled by this, Skulker."

The hunter ghost bowed his head. "Yes, my King. But I do have some good news." A smirk spread across his face.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Plasmius asked, his voice surprised.

"Phantom is in the Ghost Zone."

* * *

"The Ghost Zone?" Valerie was the first one to speak, breaking the silence that had filled the hallway since Maddie had spoken. "They're in_ there?_"

Maddie sighed, nodding her head. She placed a hand on her forehead and rubbed it in thought, trying to determine what the next course of action should be. Around her, she could hear the buzz of whisperings, people speculating on what might have happened here.

A thought struck her then, and her eyes snapped open. "Valerie, Tucker, come with me." She motioned for the two African-American teenagers to follow her, the three of them heading into the now empty dining hall, where Maddie closed the door behind them. The two teenagers exchanged uncertain looks.

"Yes, Mrs. Fenton?" Tucker asked. "What did you want us for?"

"Tucker, Valerie, I need your help." Maddie began, looking at the two teenagers carefully. "There's a way I can get into the Ghost Zone, but it's too dangerous for just one person to go alone."

"Why don't you go with Mr. Fenton?" Valerie asked. "I mean, we're just teenagers, I'm not sure of how much help we'd be."

Maddie sighed, shaking her head. "Someone needs to stay here and watch over the base while we're gone. As well as find out whoever let Skulker out..." She looked at the two. "You might be teenagers, true, but you're also very good at what you do."

Tucker and Valerie exchanged looks, both of them uncertain whether or not they should do as the older woman asked. In the end though, both of them did respect her judgement, and if she thought they were up to the task, then that meant that they must be. "Allright Mrs. Fenton. We'll go with you."

The woman smiled. "Come on then, there isn't any time to waste." She motioned with her hand for them to follow her, which they did. She lead them back out into the hallway, ignoring the questions that the rather large crowd that had gathered there were asking her, and leading them down into the basement lab, the original lab of FentonWorks.

After a few minutes of fumbling with the lock-it was old, and needed some encouragement to work, she opened up the door and entered in, flicking on the light switch, illuminating the old lab.

It certainly looked like it hadn't been used in years-layers of dust and cobwebs covered almost everything. The Fentons had abandoned it once their work got too big for it to contain it. "What do we want down here?" Valerie asked nervously. She never liked this place-it contained one of the two ghost portals that the original ghost invasion had poured through. She glanced at it, inactive now for a long time.

"This." Maddie grinned, reaching to yank the sheet off of a large object. Hovering underneath it was a sleek silver vehicle. "The original Specter Speeder." She got into the driver's seat, motioning for the two teenagers to get in as well. They exchanged glances again, before they took their seats in it, the cockpit of the vehicle just big enough to fit the three of them.

"The ones we made after this weren't designed to handle extensive travel long treks into the Ghost Zone like this one was. Plus, it has something the others don't." The older ghost huntress flipped a switch, a green radar screen lighting up. She eyed the other two. "It's a Real World Item Detector. We'll be able to find them in no time flat with this."

"So, just to get this straight, we're going into the Ghost Zone, right?" Tucker asked, looking slightly apprehensive.

Maddie nodded. "That's right." And before the two teenagers could say anything else, she activated the portal, and started up the speeder, driving through it.


	7. Mission of a Failure

**AN: **Chapter Seven IS HERE! Sorry for the lack of updates last week, but honestly... I just didn't feel like writing anything. (sweatdrops) That happens sometimes, you know. But anyways, I think I've pretty much made up for it in this chapter! We get a new character introduced here, can you guess who it is? Well... I tell you, but yeah. I had fun with this chapter.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman.

Blood of a Phantom

Chapter Seven: Mission of a Failure

Vlad Masters, if anything, was a man that was never without a Plan B, a man who always seemed to have an alternative solution available for his usage. That had never changed for him, not when the ghost portal accident in college had cost him his youthful chance at his love, not when she rejected him a second time, and certainly not when he took over the world. So it was easy to say that he was not without alternative plans should anything go wrong with the delivery of his prized weapon-and his even further prized son.

The ghost hybrid made his way down from his throne room, heading deep into his grand castle that he had built in his own honor. To the bottom levels there was an extensive laboratory, and why not? For Vlad was a scientist of sorts as well. He had, after all, gone to college to study science, and not business, like some might have earlier assumed.

The laboratory contained various things, from the usuals-beakers, test tubes, flasks, microscopes, to the not so usual-ecto-weapons, a ghost portal, and the failures.

Project Phantom had not been his first experiment with cloning, but it had so far been his only largely successful one. The news that his weapon mindset seemed to be somewhat haywire disturbed him, but the fact was, neither the weapon mindset nor the human mindset were entirely complete. While what the human mindset lacked was much clearer, the weapon mindset's flaws were less noticeable.

But they were nothing that he couldn't repair himself, if the cloned hybrid was here. And indeed, that was the plan all along. There was not a chance that Vlad would allow anyone besides him to put the finishing touches on his most prized creation.

His crimson eyes scanned over the various life-pods in the room. All told, there were four of them. The first one, he didn't spare so much as a glance at-that clone, his first, was incredibly minute in size, and was highly unstable, likely to dissolve at any moment. It would be of no use.

His eyes fell on the second pod, only pausing for a slightly longer moment. This one was better than the first, but it's physical construction, like it's mental, was half-finished. All it had was half a skeletal frame. The hybrid frowned. Neither of those would do.

His eyes moved on still to the third pod. This one's physical construction had been completed, and indeed, it was quite impressive. Physically, it might be the strongest out of the four failures he had assembled here but it's mental abilities... were rather lacking, to put it lightly. This one would be of no use either. Sometimes he even wondered why he kept these three, seeing as they were essentially useless.

Then his eyes fell on the fourth. Ah... yes. Yes, the fourth. He smirked. This one would do quite nicely.

The fourth clone was unique among his collection. After failing three times while trying to create an older male, the hybrid had decided to try something a little bit different. A younger child this time, only twelve, and a female. And his experiment had proved quite successful, producing the second ghost hybrid the world had ever known.

She was the prototype to Project Phantom, and the two projects shared many physical similarities. As humans, both possessed black hair and light blue eyes, and as ghosts, both possessed white hair, pointed ears, and blazing green eyes. The female, however, had a skin tone, albeit a very light one. The markings on her right eye were different as well, only having a curved black line at the top corner on the left side, and the bottom corner on the right.

She had more hair than her male counterpart as well, and wore it in a ponytail that was pulled back by a black ribbon. She wore a black turtleneck, sleeveless bodysuit, a single white belt over her waist, and pair of white boots to match. The girl was completely devoted to him, and she would have been perfect, but alas, that was not meant to be. The two mindsets, meant to be separate, had merged completely. And thus, she had to be rendered a failure.

But she would more than do for this task. Vlad smirked to himself, as he keyed in the code that would release her from the life-pod.

The glass on the pod slid down, releasing the girl from the ectoplasm it contained, her pale body landing softly on the ground beneath it. Her green eyes slowly flickered open, and she pulled herself up, looking around the lab in a slight daze before her eyes settled on those of her creator, and technically, her father. She blinked a few times, disoriented from being kept in storage for so long, before her eyes widened, her jaw nearly dropping.

"F... father...?" She choked out, shocked. She had thought she would never see him again, not since she had... failed him. Out of all the failures, the girl was the only one self-aware enough to know anything about what was going on. She knew that she had failed her father, by letting her two sides merge-something that she was not supposed to do. In her blind loyalty to him, she felt that it was only right that she should be put away forever and replaced. After all, what use was she to him if she couldn't do something as obviously simple as keeping her two minds separate?

"Good evening, daughter." He greeted her, though there was hardly any real love in his voice, only a cold formality. It didn't matter-she would do whatever he told her to do regardless of how he spoke to her. "I'm in need of your assistance once more."

The girl now had fully pulled herself off the ground, still staring at the older man, completely and utterly baffled. "But... father..." She begin slowly, taking some time to get used to speaking again, her voice cracking a few times from long months of disuse. "I failed you... I thought I was to sleep in storage forever...?" She half-asked, half-stated, confused.

"Yes, well, times have changed." The man frowned, his eyes drifting towards the Ghost Portal. The hybrid girl's eyes followed his towards it, blinking slowly, before she looked back up at him, none of her confusion alleviated.

"Father, what is it that you wish me to do?" She asked slowly, her voice becoming somewhat more steady now. "You know that I would do anything to help you."

"Yes, I know." The older hybrid stated, looking back at her. "You see, there has been a bit of a mishap on your... brother's...", and he used that term lightly, "...delivery to us. It seems that the rebels have captured him, and are attempting to woo him to their side. Are you following me?" He paused to ask the younger girl, just to make sure. He would hate to explain himself a second time.

But the girl nodded, signaling for him to go on, curious. Did he want her to go on some sort of rescue mission? Either way, it sounded interesting.

"But, one of my... associates," once again, he used the term here very lightly, "... on the inside managed to free one of my minions, the hunter ghost known as Skulker. I'm sure you remember him." The older ghost paused briefly to say, and to watch the young girl nod, so that he knew she was still following him. "And though he failed in capturing Phantom himself, he has managed to send him into the Ghost Zone. And that's why I need you."

The girl hybrid frowned, tilting her head. "But father, if he's in the Ghost Zone, can he not simply find his way back to you? Or is there something that's preventing him from getting here?"

"Ah, you see my dear child, it seems that he is under the delusion that living with the rebels is better for him. No doubt an idea he got from their leader." He gave his best act of a depressed sigh. "I'm sad to say that he doesn't share your feelings to for me, daughter. I wish that he would come to me willingly, but I doubt that he will, and so, we must force him to come to me, to come to us, where he truly belongs."

The girl stared at him, stunned. "But... father!" She exclaimed, her voice wavering. "He is the finished clone, and I'm just a prototype! I can't possibly hope to win in a fight against him!"

"Ah, child." The older hybrid let out a fake sigh, shaking his head slightly. "You don't have anything to worry about. Unlike you, his combat routines haven't been fully implanted into his head. You stand a very good chance against him, I'd say. Not to mention that he's currently hindered by one wounded human female, as well as an unwounded one. You should have no problem in taking him."

The girl bit her lip, her eyebrows furrowing together in thought. What he said made sense... but she couldn't help but be afraid. Why was she? It didn't make sense. Her father must have been right, because he always was. That was one of the first things that he had ever told her-that he would always be right, and therefore should be obeyed at all time. Eventually, the girl's blind faith caused her to push any doubts that she might have to the back of her mind, and she nodded, looking up at the King.

"I will, father."

(line break)

Nineteen-year old Sam Manson let out a long sigh, fidgeting. This caused a green-eyed glower to be sent back in her direction, the ghost hybrid who was carrying her not seeming too happy about the fact that she was moving about. It made it exceedingly difficult for him to fly. He could carry the two girls, but only so long as both of them stayed put and didn't try and veer him off course by fidgeting.

"Could you please stop that?" He asked in an exasperated tone. "You're making it hard for me to stay level."

"Sorry!" Sam shot a violet-eyed glare back at him, her mouth twisting into a frown. "Geez, I can't help but be uncomfortable. You would be too if you had to stay in one position for a long time, I'll bet."

The ghost hybrid merely arched an eyebrow, sending her a look that said that wouldn't be the case, before he reverted his attention back to the seemingly endless Ghost Zone in front of them. Sam groaned slightly, re-adjusting her grip on him so that she was slightly more comfortable. _Stupid... ghost weapon..._ She thought to herself, finding it hard to believe that she had even a moment of liking for this jerk.

Sam wasn't certain how long they had been traveling through it. It seemed like days since they had left the floating rock that they had been transported onto, but she knew that probably wasn't the case. Chances were, they had only been flying for half an hour, perhaps even less.

"Think they're looking for us?" Sam asked, breaking the heavy silence. They had been flying in silence almost the whole time, and even for someone who liked it, like Sam, it was beginning to get on her nerves. She couldn't imagine how Phantom put up with it, and then remembered that right now, the boy was a weapon. Of course he could put up with it.

"If they've been able to determine that we're in the Ghost Zone, then possibly." He answered her. "If not, then I'm not certain." He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together in thought. "It is possible that they wouldn't be the only ones looking for us either."

"Really?" Sam blinked. "Who?" She asked, before she wound up answering her own question. That happened quite a bit with her. "Oh..."

"Yes. The idea that all of this was an accident..." The ghost hybrid looked back at her slightly. "... is now looking to be highly unlikely. That's why we have to keep moving. It's better that we find an exit, or that we find the search party that mother sent out ourselves."

Sam blinked briefly, tilting her head so that she could get a better look at his face. "Mother? You're calling Mrs. Fenton that now?" She asked, her voice confused. All she received from him in response was a brief nod. Was that just something that Plasmius had imprinted into his mind? Or was that Phantom... Danny... thinking that himself? She knew that he certainly didn't regard Plasmius as his father, even though, technically speaking, he was.

Just the idea that Phantom was created from an experiment un-nerved her. She was trying hard to accept him, since Jazz had obviously seen something in him that was worth protecting, but he was making it awfully hard for her.

This side of him... she wasn't entirely sure what to think of it. Her feelings were mixed-she was feeling a combination of suspicion, awe, confusion, and buried in there, a hint of fear. She had no idea what he was capable of, only his fight with Skulker giving her a faint hint at how far his power went. He had destroyed a Class B ghost in a matter of moments. That was enough to un-nerve anyone.

Sam found that she kept on turning the same thoughts over and over in her head. What exactly was he? How exactly had Plasmius made him? The idea that Phantom had the Ghost King's DNA in him was also un-nerving. How would that effect him? She had seen him staring at the blood from Jazz's wound... She shook her head, the motion causing a slight grumble of compliant to come from Phantom, oblivious to what was causing her to move this time.

Imprinting... Phantom's earlier words about the concept ran through her head. It was almost surreal, and she couldn't help but finding herself thinking about all of the science fiction movies that she had watched when she was younger. He had explained to her how it worked... but it still sounded unthinkable. Just the idea that someone could artificially construct a human, much less a ghost hybrid... how was that even possible? Tucker would probably follow along with this easier than she would, and she found herself wishing that the African-American teenager was here.

She paused in her thoughts for a moment there, looking over the white-haired boy's back. God... she had never met anyone more baffling to her than he was. Normally Sam could get an accurate impression of a person within a few days of meeting them, but Phantom... Danny... he still eluded her. He was an mystery, and somehow...

She found that she liked it.

He was a challenge, she realized now. When she looked past the shroud of hate that she had placed over him, she saw just how multi-faceted he was. It wasn't just because of how he came into existence, or because he had two minds. That was part of it, yes, but there was more to it, so much more. He was like a safe, and Sam wanted to crack it and see just what was inside.

Too bad she had no idea where to even begin.

"...so..." Sam began again, licking her lips, which were getting a tad chapped. "Um... do you have any idea who Plasmius might send after us? Or do you think that he'll come after us himself?"

"Chances are, no, he won't." The ghost hybrid shook his head slightly, re-adjusting the wounded Jazz in his arms, so that he carried her easier. "He'll probably send small fry after us until he's left with no other alternative. From what I've heard of him, he doesn't really want to get his hands dirty unless it becomes absolutely necessary."

"Heard of?" Sam frowned. "Don't you know for yourself? I mean, he _did _make you."

"Yes, but I'm a lability until my loyalty can be given completely to him. He probably didn't see it coming, but just in case, he wanted to prepare if something were to go wrong with my transport. That's why he left the majority of my combat routines unfinished." Phantom answered her.

There was a pause after his words, before Sam spat out, "Unfinished? And you destroyed a Class B ghost in a handful of minutes!"

"Skulker's not that tough." He answered her, not seeming to share in her shock.

Sam shut her mouth, and simply stared at him. Yes... he was definitely a mystery.

(line break-BLARGHWTHCAN'TIDOTHIS?)

"Any luck, Mrs. Fenton?" Valerie Gray asked, leaning over to look at the radar. They had found two signals designating the location of two real world items a long time ago, but they kept on moving out of the sensor's range. Valerie idly wondered why they didn't pick up Danny as something from the real world, but then decided that it was simply because the scanner wasn't quite sure what to make of the ghost hybrid. She remembered that the Fentons had made this Speeder long before Plasmius had sent his ghost army to take the Earth.

She shook her head. They had lost the beacons about five minutes ago, and she was having trouble finding them again. "No, I'm afraid not. Wherever they are, they're on the move." She sighed, leaning back in her seat a bit. "I can't say that I blame them. I'm certain that by now Vlad's heard of this, and he's sending someone after them."

Valerie nodded, sitting back in her seat, casting a brief look over towards the other person in the Speeder. Tucker Foley. She didn't really see him that much at the base, which was no surprise, really. The technology wizard spent most of his time in his room, sometimes not coming out for days. Whenever she passed by his room, she gave a pause, wondering exactly what it was that he was doing in there.

Right now, he had pulled out a PDA, a piece of technology that many at the rebel base would have considered quite outdated. Tucker had his since before Plasmius invaded, and he had never let it go, constantly upgrading and improving on it. Valerie wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the more sophisticated pieces of equipment that they had in their base.

"Hah!" The technology prodigy let out a loud laugh, causing Maddie to look at him now as well. "I've done it!" He grinned widely.

"Done what, Tucker?" Maddie asked, intrigued.

"Watch." He stated simply, tapping in some numbers onto the PDA, a mirror of the radar screen that the Specter Speeder had appearing above it. Only this one seemed to have a wider range, as a pair of blips appeared on it. Tucker grinned at the two. "I've increased the range of your scanner, Mrs. Fenton. We won't lose them again with this. Give me a few minutes, and I can probably increase the maximum speed on this Speeder too."

"Well..." Maddie laughed slightly, surprised. "Tucker, you have no idea how much this helps us."

The techno prodigy shrugged, already taking off his seat-belt and ducking underneath to the control panel of the ship. "Yeah, I do." He remarked as he got to work, pushing around with various wires within the panel, making mental notes in his head of the configuration.

Valerie leaned down, peering at him. "Are you sure messing with that while we're flying is a good idea?" She asked, an eyebrow arched.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Of course. I know what I'm doing." He shot back, his sour look being replaced almost instantly when he found what he was looking for. "Hah!" He laughed triumphantly, a wide grin flashing on his face. He briefly pulled himself out from underneath the control panel, looking at the two females in the Speeder. "You two may want to hold on to something."

The two women exchanged slightly worried glances, before they both quickly re-adjusting their seat belts, barely having time to even doing that before the Speeder picked up a quick burst of speed, lurching from the cursing speed they were stuck in to something Valerie was sure had just broken the sound barrier. The speed jolt only lasted several minutes, before they once again lurched to a stop, sending the two woman launching forward a bit, grateful for the fact that their seatbelts kept them from going forward any further.

"And we should be near them by now..." A woozy Tucker remarked, pulling himself up from underneath the control panel, shaking his head to reorient himself.

Sure enough, they all heard a shout of recognition, a question, and a response. It wasn't long before the three missing travellers came close to the Speeder, Sam letting out a sigh of relief. She was so glad the Fentons had found them first.

"Jazz!" Maddie exclaimed, noticing her wounded daughter first before anything else. "Oh my poor baby girl..." She whispered, stretching out her arms to take the firey red-head. Phantom obliged, giving it to the ghost huntress, who took it carefully, causing Jazz to let out a brief moan, though she remained unconscious.

"She got hurt trying to protect him..." Sam relayed in a quiet whisper, leaving out the part that she was also responsible for the damage Jazz had took. Anyone could have told it though, from the guilt that flashed through her eyes as she stepped into the Speeder, taking a seat on the floor in front of Tucker and Valerie. They had stretched Jazz's unconscious form over their laps, with Tucker resting her head lightly in his lap.

Maddie merely nodded, she would talk to the raven-haired girl later. For now, they just had to worry about getting out of here before any of Vlad's cronies found them. The fact that they hadn't yet almost unnerved her...

She pushed the thought aside, her eyes trailing back to the white-haired boy floating beside the Speeder. She didn't have to be told to know it was Danny. "Get in. There's enough room besides Sam." She smiled softly at him, her heart gladdening to see a slight smile break on his otherwise expressionless face. She would need to speak with him as well.

"He's not going with you."

The quartet whipped their heads around, their eyes all landing at the white-haired ghost female who was now floating just in front of him. She smirked slightly, a determined look crossing her face. "He's going home with me, to where he belongs."


	8. The Prototype

AN: Hah, I remembered to convert it to left alignment this time! Anyways, Blood of the Phantom Chapter Eight! Was going to write this yesterday, but I was feeling under the weather. D: Anyways, I like this chapter, I think. First battle chapter since my return! Huzzah! Please enjoy and review if you can!

____________________________

Blood of a Phantom

Chapter Eight: The Prototype

"He's going home with me, where he belongs."

The group froze for a moment, all eyes on the new arrival. The girl ghost hung in the air near the speeder, as if waiting for some kind of reaction. She didn't really want to fight Phantom, because even with her father's assurances, she thought that she wouldn't be able to win. It would be nice if she could just convince him to come with her- maybe she could threaten the humans, if it came to it.

Phantom was the first to speak. "I think you're mistaken." He said slowly, watching her carefully. He didn't know who this girl was, just that she was giving of a similar power signature to his own. One of Vlad's prototypes, maybe? He could have sworn the man would have waited to break one of them out. He must have really wanted him back.

"I think you are the one mistaken." The female ghost insisted. "Whatever these humans have said to you, they are just trying to deceive you! Father is the only one who cares about the two of us! Why don't you see that?"

_Ah, prototype it is._ Phantom thought. "Look, the other ghost already tried that tactic." He told her. "So if you've come to take me back, you're just going to have to fight me for it."

Hesitation showed on the girl's face for just a moment, but vanished quickly. It was there just long enough for those inside the Speeder to catch it, however. Maddie's mind was already considering options. They had a powerful ghost shield on the Specter Speeder, but she didn't want to risk having the ghost follow them back to base.

She did notice that this new ghost had addressed Vlad as her father, however. That, coupled with how similar she looked to Danny, made her think that this was one of Vlad's prototypes. She wondered if Vlad had also used her DNA to help construct this one, but couldn't spare a thought for that for too long. There were bigger things to worry about.

"Fine then!" The girl ghost raised her voice, gathering her confidence. She would just have to catch him and bring him back. That wouldn't be too hard, would it? After all, father had said that his combat routines weren't complete yet, and she knew hers were. She had to banish the thought of a possible failure from her mind.

After all, if she won, maybe her father would allow her to remain out of storage. Never wanting to disobey him, she had gone into storage of her own free will, but always secretly wanted to stay outside, with him. If she succeeded in this mission, if she won, then there might finally be a chance of that happening.

That alone was enough to convince her that fighting Phantom was worth it. So, thoughts of winning his approval filling her mind, the girl readied herself to fight Phantom.

Phantom glanced back at those in the Speeder for a moment, before he flew outside of it, readying himself to fight. Maddie took her cue and activated the ghost shield on the Speeder, trying to back it out of harm's way. Although she wanted to get Jazz back to the base for treatment as quickly as possible, she was hesitant about leaving Danny behind. She didn't know if he'd be able to find his way back, and she didn't even know if he would win this fight.

She wasn't about to let Vlad take him from her, creator or not. She always knew that the man would have made a horrible father- that was part of the reason she chose Jack over him, in fact. Maddie had always wanted children of her own.

Phantom watched the ghost girl carefully, as if he was waiting for her to make the first move. "What's wrong?" He asked. "You aren't frozen in fear, are you? Not after all of that big talk of bringing me back?"

"I am not afraid!" The ghost girl insisted. "Let me show you!" Those words having barely finished coming from her lips, she charged up a powerful ectoblast, hurling it at Phantom. The ghost boy quickly evaded the blast, only to have her follow it up by another. He managed to avoid this one as well, though it was a bit too close for comfort. She knew what she was doing, that was for certain.

The ghost girl wasted no time in moving in, rushing at Phantom with all the speed she had. The ghost boy quickly flew above her, avoiding it, but she flew at him again, this time charging up another ectoblast and firing it off at him. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as he managed to dodge it once more. She would have to think outside the box for this one.

Phantom shot off his own blast then, which Danni avoided, firing back with another one of her own. Their power levels weren't that far off, he noted, though she seemed to be a little bit weaker than him. He wondered for a moment why Plasmius had scrapped her, since she seemed to be working just fine.

The ghost girl lunged at him again, this time firing two ectoblasts simultaneously. Phantom's eyes narrowed, as he narrowly avoided them. Wasting no time, he fired two of his own at the girl. She managed to avoid them, a bit better than he did, given her reduced size, but Phantom had not stopped moving and had followed behind his own blasts.

She felt his fist colliding against her chin, knocking her back in the air. She couldn't waste time recovering though, as Phantom was on her again. This time, she managed to raise an ectosheild, blocking her from getting at him. With her free hand, she charged up a blast and hurled it at him, giving a triumphant grin as this one managed to hit home, knocking the larger ghost hybrid back.

Shaking it off, he found himself having to go back on the defensive now as the petite ghost charged him, firing off a round of ectoblasts. He threw up a shield to defend against them, then used the shield itself to slam into her once she got close enough. The ghost girl was forced back, and Phantom took advantage of that moment, firing a blast at her.

This blast hit home, and sent the smaller girl flying back. Growing frustrated now, she forced aside her own pain to continue fighting him. She could take a blast like that, her father hadn't made her to be weak. Of course, she knew that he hadn't made Phantom to be weak either, so this battle might take a lot longer than she had first anticipated. Combat routines or not, he wasn't stupid.

Somewhere in all of this, her plans of threatening the humans fell unnoticed to the wayside. Her mind was focused on this battle, and as it continued to rage on, the more she wanted to win it by her own strength, rather than resorting to a dirty trick.

The two ghosts continued to exchange blows, both physical and ectoplasmic. Some of them missed, some of them hit, but neither of them were willing to give up. Phantom really didn't want to go along with this girl to be Vlad's puppet, and the girl really wanted to prove herself to her beloved father.

Gritting her teeth against a blast that had come too close for comfort, the ghost girl raised her arm to send off one of her own at her 'brother'. This was stopped, however, by her own body, as she noticed to her horror, that her arm was seeping ectoplasm. She froze for a moment, unable to keep a small shriek from escaping once she noticed that it was oozing from most of her body.

Phantom didn't seem to let this faze him, however, and fired off an ectoblast at her. Caught off-guard, the ghost girl was sent flying backwards, crashing into a nearby door. Groaning in pain, she noticed her feet were slowly starting to turn into a puddle of goo, dripping down on a floating rock down below.

What was going on!? She was turning back into ectoplasmic goo, from the looks of it. This hadn't happened before, she thought panicking, noticing Phantom's approach. To be truthful, however, she had never fought this much before either. She felt part of her heart sinking, her dream of impressing her father fading from her reach. There was no way he was ever going to consider her useful, not with a flaw like this!

What should she do?

Phantom grinned to himself as he flew towards the ghost girl. He didn't really know what was happening to her, but it was something he intended to take advantage of. Raising his hand, he prepared to fire another ectoblast, but a shout from the Speeder gave him pause. Turning to look at them, he realized that the Speeder was moving again, coming close towards them.

"Danny, stop!" Maddie put her head out of the Speeder, dropping the ghost shield for the moment. Valerie was keeping an eye on the girl ghost, one hand over her ectopistol, just in case this was some kind of trick to get their guard down. Tucker had moved in the back with Sam, and was helping keep Jazz's condition stable as best the two knew how.

"Danny, you've already won this!" Maddie called out to him. She realized what was happening to the ghost girl. She was clearly unstable, and was now starting to dissolve back into a puddle of goo. "Please, get in the Speeder, we can't wait any longer. We have to get your sister back to the base. She needs urgent treatment!"

Phantom seemed to hesitate, unsure of what move to make next. The weapon part of his mind told him to finish the girl off, but his human half told him to listen to his mother. The internal debate showed on his face, as he glanced back from Maddie, to the girl, then back to Maddie again.

After a moment, he dropped his arm, the ectoplasmic energy fading away. Giving a last long look at the young ghost girl, as if warning her against trying anything, he flew into the Speeder. He landed in the back with Sam and Tucker and gave Maddie a signal to move.

Although the ghost girl was becoming disoriented now, she noticed what was going on. They were going away, they were getting away from her. But the worst part, the worst part of it all, even more than knowing that she was doomed for storage again, was the feeling that the ghost boy had pitied her. Worse even than the thought that she might be fading from existence.

She wasn't even worth his time to finish off.

"Don't pity me!" She felt herself screaming at the top of her lungs, her voice carrying through the Ghost Zone. "Damnit, come back and finish this with me, Phantom!" She yelled, clinging to the door frame with all the strength she could muster. "Come back!" She screamed again, although the Speeder was gone from her vision now.

"Don't pity me..."

The world blurred in her sights then, and there was nothing more.

______________________________________________

Back in the Speeder, Phantom sat down and let the rings of blue light move over his body, causing him to resume his human form. Maddie glanced back momentarily after seeing the flash of light, and smiled at the raven haired boy as he returned. She would have things to ask him when they got back, but now was not the time.

_Right now, _she thought, _the most important thing is to get Jazz back home for treatment. _Glancing now at her injured daughter, she felt her heart skip a beat, finally having time to take in the extent of the damage. She swore then, that she was going to find the ghost that did this to her, and rip it apart, until there was nothing left of it. Nobody, _nobody _messed with her children and got away with it.

And if she didn't do it, she knew that damn well Jack would.

With the injured Jazz on board, the Speeder had to go slower than Tucker's power boost now allowed it to. Though she didn't like the thought of staying in the Ghost Zone any longer than they already had, she also didn't want to risk causing further damage to Jazz. Switching the ghost shield back up, just in case, she glanced over at Valerie.

"Keep a sharp eye out." She told her, though the girl already seemed to be doing just that. She had her hands resting on both of her ectopistols, as if she expected something to jump out at them any second now. She too, was sickened to see the extent of damage that Jazz had taken, hoping that her friend would be alright.

She had already lost her father to this war, she didn't want to see anyone else she cared about leaving her.

The longer this war dragged on, Valerie knew, the better chances were for one of her loved ones to die again. She didn't want that. She knew that, especially now, now that the war had slowly started to move again from it's grinding halt, that people would start dying again. She thought for a moment that she would rather give up her own life than let someone else close to her die again.

It wasn't like she blamed herself for her father's death, or anything. She knew that the man had gone on the undercover mission on his own free will. She couldn't be more proud of him, really. After Plasmius had found him out, he had pretty much left the man for dead. And yet still, still, he had managed to steal a transport, and had managed to drive for who knows how long back to Amity Park. Valerie honestly didn't know what kind of inner strength it took for him to fight off his injuries for that long.

And when he returned, he made his way to the command center on his own, and reported in one last time. It was then, only then, had he finally passed away.

The information he had given them was the existence of the Phantom Project. It was invaluable information, the stuff that would insure that Vlad could not break the stalemate in his favor. And now, from the looks of things, a faint hope was growing inside her that they might have just gained their winning hand.

From the very thing Plasmius created to destroy them. The irony was not lost on her.

More than anything now, Valerie wanted to win this war. She had always wanted to, of course, but now, now, the desire was blazing inside of her, an inferno that could not be put out. They would win, they had to win. They would take back the human world for humans, and send the ghosts back where they belonged.

She was more determined now than ever not to let her father, not to let anyone's parents, friends, or family, to have died in vain.

They had to win.

__________________________________________________

Back at the base, Jack heard the clanging of the Ghost Portal's alert, indicating that something was nearing it. Making his way over to it, he opened up the portal, allowing the Specter Speeder to enter the old lab. No sooner than had the tail end of it come in, did Jack seal the portal, shutting it off once more, not wanting anything else to come out of it.

"Jack!" Maddie jumped out of the Speeder, not wasting any time. "Call for a stretcher, Jazz is hurt." She paused to look at him. "It's bad."

Knowing that now was no the time to ask questions, he quickly called for one. Valerie had hopped back behind the seat of the Speeder, and was helping Tucker and Sam remove Jazz from it, careful not to hurt her any more than she already was. Jack couldn't help but flinch at the sight of his injured daughter, and moved to help them lie her down on the floor once he was done with his call.

Danny came out of the Speeder last, grateful to be human again, as well as out of the Ghost Zone. Although it seemed he and his weapon mindset were slowly merging, Danny still preferred to be himself. His ghost form was too insensitive for his tastes, and he didn't like some of the thoughts that ran through his mind while he was in that body. He could feel and see everything his other self could, and most of it just didn't mix with his human personality.

Part of him even felt bad about leaving the young ghost girl back there. Half of him had wanted to bring her with him. Maybe if he saw how humans like Maddie and Jack and Jazz were, how they acted, maybe she would come to like living over here. He kind of got the feeling that Vlad didn't appreciate her that much.

Several minutes of anxious waiting later, a stretcher was brought down. Two medics carefully placed Jazz on it, and assured the Fentons that their daughter would be alright. She was in their hands now, and they would not let them down. The two nodded, letting them take their daughter away.

Maddie let out a sigh of relief now, glad to be home, and glad to have Jazz safely on her way to get help. She didn't delude herself into thinking they could save her mangled arm, but at least now she was certain that she would live. They had good medics here, people who really knew what they were doing. They had to, otherwise they would have lost many more lives than they already had.

"She's going to be just fine, Maddie." Jack assured her, putting his hand on her arm.

"I know, I know." Maddie placed her hand over his, giving him a weak smile. She then turned towards the others assembled in the old lab, realizing they were waiting for her to say something. "For now, just head on back to your quarters. I'll gather you all up for a debriefing in an hour. Valerie, can you help Danny back to his room?" She asked.

Valerie nodded. "Yeah, no problem. I'd be happy to." Part of her really wanted to follow behind Jazz's stretcher however, but the Fenton's orders came first. "Danny, come on, I'll help you back up."

She still wasn't sure what to make of his ghost form, yet. Glancing over at the raven haired boy, she thought that he was no different than from when she had first met him, however. She didn't like ghosts, really, but she wasn't half as irrational about it as Sam was at times. She had seen examples of ghosts that were not like the others, and it was enough to convince her that being a ghost didn't mean you were necessarily evil.

Besides, it seemed that Danny had proved that he intended to stay on the side of the humans back there. It might be a trick, granted, all part of an elaborate scheme, but somehow... she didn't think so. She wasn't always the best judge of character, honestly, but something about this just felt right to her.

"Um, sure." Danny paused, glancing over at the Fentons, before he followed behind Valerie. He too, felt very worried about Jazz. Although he still couldn't quite figure out why she had done what she did, being in his human mindset allowed him more insight on the situation. Was that what people did for those that they cared about? He wondered. That thought touched him deeply.

These people were willing to put their lives on the line for those that they cared about. Not all of them, maybe, but there were those among them who would do it in a heartbeat.

To him, that was amazing.

__________________________________________

Jack hadn't been wasting his time during the several hours it took for the crew of the Speeder to come back. Instead, he had been busy seeking out the traitor amongst their ranks. Although he often gave off the impression of being a clueless buffoon, he wasn't half in charge of the rebellion for nothing.

He knew that Skulker had to be released by somebody. He had been there for several years, and nothing had changed since he was confined in his cell. No, this was an inside job. Somebody here was working for Vlad.

It didn't take them too long to figure out who it was, really. After all, she wasn't as clever as she thought she was. Now she sat, confined in a cell of her own, waiting judgement. It would not be pretty.

Vlad had played a card, but in the end, it was the rebels that managed to use it to their advantage. Oh, there may be other moles, it was possible, but for now, one of them, Paulina Sanchez, was locked away. Skulker had escaped, but he no longer held any more information for them.

It was a small victory today, and not without it's costs, but nobody really missed it's significance.

Twice now, the rebellion had one. They had not only captured Plasmius' weapon and turned it against him, but they had also managed to catch one of his moles.

For now, it seemed that the stalemate had broken in their favor.


End file.
